German machine tools for better air in the ASEAN region

Dr. Wilfried Schafer

According to Dr. Wilfried Schafer, Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders‘ Association) during the VDW’s press conference at the Metalex Bangkok, South East Asia stands for prosperity and growth. The ASEAN region is thus also an attractive high-growth market for the automotive industry.

He said that Thailand alone, for example, accounts for 30% of sales, half of the total production output, and for as much as three-quarters of commercial-vehicle production in the region. Economic experts anticipate that this favourable trend will continue in the medium term as well.

Dr. Schafer explained that electro-mobility is taking time to gain widespread acceptance for a large number of reasons, primarily including the mobility requirements outside the urband centres and the general shortage of charging infrastructure. German vendors of production technology remain an attractive partner for Thailand’s automotive industry.

“As I have already described, they offer not onlhy new solutions, but also sophisticated technology enabling motors and drives in the conventional category with low pollutant emissions to be produced. This would already be making a substantial contribution towards downsizing the high level of air pollution in the cities. The German exhibits and performative capabilities in Metalex offer abundant inspiration for this,“ he further said.