Carmall.com - Rp.243 billion (USD 27 million) worth of fund has been injected by both manufacturers Toyota and Ford to increase their pick-up production capacity in a joint venture plant in Thailand. This fund will be used to add robotic equipments to help expedite the production process for Mazda BT-50, as well as 2012 Ford New Ranger, at AutoAlliance (AAT), a joint venture plant between Ford and Mazda.

According to Mazda Motor Corporation's Executive Director, Yuji Nakamine, the investment is the ideal step for meeting the increasing demands from consumer. Nakamine also sees this investment as a strategic step in the business cooperation between Ford and Mazda.

On the other hand, President of Ford ASEAN, Peter Fleet, claimed that their company will give their best effort in meeting the extraordinary high demand for the latest generation Ford Ranger through this investment. Additionally, the investment is also Ford Motor Company's commitment to entrust Thailand as their base for manufacturing and global exports.

With this investment, it is expected that the AAT plant's production capacity will increase by 20,000 units per year, starting next month.