Iveco to make trucks for domestic, export markets

Iveco (Thailand) general manager Koray Kursunoglu said the company had begun operating in Thailand three years ago to study the large truck market. He said Iveco positioned itself between European and Japanese brands according to price, allowing it to expand its customer base. 

“With our distributor SSK Group Sales and Service having a strong background in large-truck sales and being able to sell more than 2,000 Iveco trucks in just three years, we are confident that the Iveco brand will be able to expand to markets in this region,” he said. Kursunoglu said Iveco would provide both technology and engineers for setting up local production.

A 30-rai plot of land has been purchased in Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, on which the Bt1-billion assembly plant will be built, said SSK Group managing director Suksomkiat Suaklinsak.

“We plan to start production at the end of 2015 for truck heads, trucks, mixer trucks and buses,” he revealed. “We also plan to export to other Asean markets once the AEC [Asean Economic Community] comes into effect.”

During the last three months, the company has sold as many as 200 380hp truck heads and 290hp mixer trucks. Next year it plans to introduce additional diesel and NGV vehicles to expand its line-up in Thailand, with 2015 sales being targeted at 800 units.

“We have lowered our retail pricing to just Bt3 million, which is much lower than our previous pricing, and we plan to maintain this for at least three years,” he said.