Suzuki Myanmar invests $100M to raise its production capacity

Suzuki Motors has announced that it will be increasing the production of its factories in Myanmar. The move to invest in the area is part of the Japanese company’s plan to add more vehicles to the southeastern Yangon plant’s vehicle production lineup. With the investment, the floor space of the factory is expected to increase to 42,000 sq.m while production is expected to increase to 40,000 vehicles from its original capacity of 10,000. The plant is also expected to start production of the Suzuki Swift and the Suzuki Ertiga by September 2021.

The total investment cost is said to be 12 billion Yen or roughly $108.91 million. With a new source of funds, this will allow the factory to paint car bodies a task that it wasn’t capable of doing before. Until recently the factory had to import car painted car bodies from other neighboring countries including India. These painted bodies would then be assembled in Myanmar and would later be sold for the local market.

Suzuki already has a 60 percent share in the Myanmar market, the addition of the new facility will help the Japanese brand maintain that share in the area. With the new factory in place Suzuki will be able to easily address the growing need for vehicles in the area. Construction for the new facility is expected to start on March 25, 2020. With Myanmar becoming a new hot market for automakers it's not hard to see why the country is slowly becoming a new production hub in the ASEAN region with companies such as Toyota and Hyundai wanting to build factories in the area. 

Once the factory is complete, it could be the next possible source of Suzuki vehicles for the Philippine market, if the factory can exceed the demands of the Myanmar automotive market. However, nothing can be confirmed yet as the factory is just about to begin its construction.