Amidst an unsustainable business case in Thailand, Tanchong Subaru Automotive Thailand (TCSAT) will cease production at its assembly base in Thailand at the end of the year. The announcement was made in a filing by Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL) with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Tan Chong International Limited is the parent company of Motor Image, the official distributor of Subaru vehicles in several ASEAN markets including the Philippines.
TCSAT, located at the Lad Krabang Industrial Estate, is a joint venture between Tan Chong International Limited (74.9 percent) and Subaru Corporation (25.1 percent) and was officially opened in 2019. It is the fourth Subaru assembly plant in the world and the first in Asia outside of Japan. It occupies over 100,000 square meters of space and has the maximum capacity of 100,000 units annually.
TCSAT is the second Subaru assembly plant closed by Tan Chong after its Malaysian assembly operations (operated under Tan Chong Motor Assemblies) have switched over to produce Nissan and Renault vehicles.
The Philippine market is not affected by the plant closure, however, earlier this year, Tan Chong Deputy Chairman Glenn Tan said that sourcing for the sixth-generation Forester for the Philippine market will switch from Japan to Thailand in a bid to make it more price competitive versus other compact SUVs. However, with this development, Tan Chong will instead offer CBU (Completely Built Up) units sourced from Japan to markets originally served by the CKD model including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia. These markets, Motor Image says, is looking forward to have their Subaru vehicles sourced CBU from Japan.
No wonder, nobody buys Subarus anymore. With their high prices they pretend to be some luxury brand, which they are not, and their design is meh....
ReplyDeleteMahal masyado pati ang maintenance kaya most car buyers prefer diesel na SUV 4x2 or 4x4. Maganda sya pero mahal at hindi practical kung dito sa atin.
ReplyDeleteHalatang hindi pa ito naka Subaru. Sa kwentong barbero lang nakuha kanyang info
DeleteSeems like Tan Chong is struggling switching to electrification. They prefer to import than to build instead.
ReplyDeletesubaru cars as well as mazdas are (quite) expensive to buy and maintained. in here, when car organizations like campi (if those makes are members of the group) subaru and mazda are always at the bottom of the number of cars sold in the philippines.. also, the number of dealerships are far and few compared to other japanese nameplates toyota, nissan, mitsu and suzuki. so they are a company with vw
ReplyDeleteSubaru and Mazda are the smallest among the Japanese Car makers. so it's not a surprise to see them at the bottom. How many models do Subaru and Mazda have compared to Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi? Subaru only has around 6 models to sell. Mazda probably around 10-12. Toyota at the minimum has 20 plus then you add the Lexus brand. Toyota has a broad range of market segmentation and pricing. From basic / volume seller all the way up to flagships.
DeleteBut I agree, they should be selling more than what current numbers they have only if they just priced their cars correctly. Subaru prices their cars like premium vehicles when they're not. Mazda is moving up the value chain and reflects it in their interior and quality. Both Bermaz and Tanchong could do a bit better than copy Ayala's model of pricing. haha.
My Subaru from 2012 still working and in good condition with minor repairs.
ReplyDeleteSame, feels like it will run perfectly 12 years more.
DeleteSubarus are expensive bcoz of the fulltime AWD system that you will never use 90% of the time.
ReplyDeleteIf they can only switch to FWD cars, it will sell cheaper and make themselves some more profit and therefore grow their business.
With your suggestion, might as well ditch the boxer engine while they're at it. AWD is what makes Subaru unique.
DeleteBeing unique doesnt sell anymore. Thats why theyre closing shop in thailand. 90% of subaru onwers here doesnt do offroad, and nobody uses the AWD system 90% of the time. Its a waste of hardware, unless youre in the US or Canada, where they sell well.
Deleteits not about sales bro. wala ka bang prinsipyo?
DeleteIts all about sales.
DeleteIf a company does not sell, it will close shop. Sales is what makes a company survive. Remember the Lexus LFA? Its a 100M dollar sales flop.
Then at least it died an honorable death with its principles intact. There’s more to life than sales bro.
DeleteCurrent generation of Subaru vehicles are overpriced,ugly,full of cheap nasty plastics and unreliable
ReplyDeleteTCIL/Motor Image is financially struggling for years due to their greed and overpricing.
LOL. This is the typical nonsense that non-Subaru owners say.
DeleteMade in japan the best
ReplyDeletei have a subaru forester and I love the peace of mind it gives me safety-wise. I am not after looks but for safety it gives my family. If you can afford its price and the cost of maintaining it, buy one. If not just shut up and buy yourself one of those CDR-king style chinese cars.
ReplyDeleteI onced had a forester XT but sold it eventually after 5 years. The maintenace and parts cost will cost you an arm and leg. True story.
Delete