Asian Tech Press (Dec 09) -- According to Nikkei, Ford Motor announced that it will invest $900 million to renovate its Thailand plant. It will increase the number of robots in the plant to about twice the original size to improve production efficiency. Annual production capacity is expected to increase by about 15 percent to about 270,000 units. Ford will position Thailand as a production base for commercial vehicles and SUVs, expanding supply to domestic and international.

Ford produces the pickup truck "Ranger" and the SUV "Everest" in Thailand, sold to about 180 countries.

According to the Bangkok Post, Ford said the investment will be implemented through its own plant and AutoAlliance Thailand, a joint venture with Japan's Mazda. The expansion will add 1,250 new jobs at Ford plants, with $400 million in investment flowing into the supply chain network.