Japanese electric wire manufacturers Hitachi Metals and Furukawa Electric are shifting their production and investment into Vietnam as they prepare for growth in Asia’s electric vehicle market, Nikkei Asian Review reported.
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According to Nikkei, Hitachi Metals is building its capacity to produce wire for electric parking brakes (EPB) in Vietnam and Thailand.
The company will expand production capacity at its existing plants and build new facilities during the first half of fiscal 2020. It plans to supply EPB wire primarily to Japanese auto-sector manufacturers in Southeast Asia.
It will also open new production facilities at its plant in Hai Duong Province in northern Vietnam and beef up the capacity of existing facilities at its plant in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok.
EPBs do not require conventional mechanical levers, making it possible to more effectively use space around the driver’s seat. Hitachi Metals is rushing to expand local processing in anticipation of growing demand for EPB wire in Asia.
In Vietnam, Furukawa Electric will also invest about US$32 million to quadruple its existing local plant’s capacity to produce aluminum wire for automobiles. A new building will go online in September 2020.
Furukawa Electric intends to cash in on increasing demand due to greater use of aluminum in EVs to make them lighter.
Many Asian countries are promoting EVs under government initiatives. The Chinese government is promoting the spread of ecologically friendly cars like EVs the help address environmental problems due to auto emissions.
The Thai government is also pursuing "Thailand 4.0," a policy to upgrade the nation’s industries. Next-generation automobiles such as EVs have a prominent place in the place.
There are also moves to establish charging infrastructure for EVs in Asia, which is also encouraging Japan's electric wire makers to expand their operations in the region.
In Vietnam, for example, conglomerate Vingroup and state-owned oil company PetroVietnam are separately building charging stations.
