Suzuki Closes Factory In Thailand From The End Of 2025, Turns Out There Are Other Reasons

Suzuki XL7 Hybrid. (Doc. Suzuki Thailand)

JAKARTA - Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided to close its factory in Thailand, the Suzuki Motor Thailand (SMT) at the end of 2025.

In an official statement, quoted Monday, June 10, this decision was taken as part of the restructuring of Suzuki's global production structure.

SMT was founded by Suzuki in 2011 after the Thai government announced an environmentally friendly car project in 2007. SMT is said to have started production in 2012 and produces as many as 60,000 units annually including for exports.

In an effort to drive carbon neutrality and electrification globally, Suzuki has considered optimizing global production sites within the group.

"As a result, the company took the decision to close the SMT factory at the end of 2025," wrote Suzuki's statement.

Despite closing the factory, SMT continues its sales and after-sales services to meet customer needs in Thailand, through imports of CBU from factories in the ASEAN region and Japan and India.

In addition, to contribute to achieving the carbon neutrality goal promoted by the Thai government, the company will introduce electric models including the HEV.

It turned out that there was an additional reason behind the closure of the factory, namely the sales volume that did not grow or as expected.

Our sales volume in Thailand did not grow as much as expected, a Suzuki spokesperson said, citing the Nikkei Asia website.

Based on the company's information, currently the Suzuki factory in Thailand only produces 7,500 vehicles from fiscal year to March. In the future, Suzuki plans to focus its production in Asia in Indonesia, Japan, and India.

The closure comes amid fierce competition by Japanese-China manufacturers in Thailand, where Japanese cars are said to still dominate the market, but Chinese manufacturers have filled the market niche of pure and hybrid electric vehicles.