The news, announced on a telephone conference, will temporarily close an assembly plant near Dearborn, Michigan. The plant employs around 4,000 workers who will be on mandatory layoff.

Earlier this week, the US automaker said another 3,600 workers at its F-150 facility in Kansas City, Missouri were being laid off.

Ford says it is short on some important parts to manufacture the popular vehicle, after the explosion a week ago at its supplier Meridian Lightweight Technologies, whose main shareholder since 2013 is the Chinese group Wanfeng Auto Holdings.

Dealers, however, still have inventory.

The F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the United States, and the engine of Ford’s profits.

Daimler said the introduction of the FJ 2528C demonstrates its commitment to serve and meet the demands of the market, while complementing its current OneStopSolutions.

“This new fuel-efficient and safe truck is the improved successor of our FN62 Dump Truck and shows our clear leadership in the Thai construction sector.

“The truck is capable of very heavy construction work with 280 horsepower and a carrying capacity of 13 tons. This great quality, high endurance truck, is one of the necessities of any construction business, and can help reduce operational and maintenance costs thus boosting potential profits,” said Sascha Ricanek, CEO of DCVT.

He said Fuso construction trucks are popular among leading Thai and international companies in the logistics and construction sectors, with an array of safety features including ABS braking.

Organisers are expecting more than 250,000 visitors during the 5-day event at halls 105-106, with 2,300 new cars and 1,300 used cars up for sale.

This is the seventh year the event has been held.

Fifteen new car and motorcycle retailers and 16 used car dealers will be featuring their vehicles under the slogan “Pick the one you like, drive the one that’s right”.

Chairman of the organising committee, Pattanadesh Asasappakij, said Thailand’s economy has shown continuous improvements this year.

“From the forecast of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Thai economy will grow from 4.2 to 4.6 per cent this year, and similarly the automobile market is also experiencing growth,” he said.

“Auto companies have the potential to stimulate the market with new products and promotions, and generate sales growth. At the same time, consumers still consider automobiles an important part of life, so the highly attractive campaigns and promotions offered at the Fast Auto Show will definitely help boost sales for participating companies.”

Apart from the vehicles on sale, buyers can enjoy special promotions, both from the auto companies as well as Krungsri Bank which is offering offering 5 per cent interest rate and an 84-month installment car loan plan, apart from gifts and fuel vouchers.

Pattanadesh said the event is intended to serve as a stage for buyers and sellers to meet, whether for new or old vehicles.

“No matter if it’s a new car or old car, buy or sell, you can came to the show.

“There are many [vendors] who will help you achieve your goal in a short time with all sides satisfied.

“There are a large number of sales promotions throughout the event whether from the exhibitors or finance companies,” he said. “We are confident that the Fast Auto Show will benefit the country’s auto industry during the midyear period and also help stimulate Thailand’s economy.”

Chanchai Trakarnudomsuk, president of Mazda Sales (Thailand), on Monday said that with the range’s increasing popularity in the Thai automobile market thanks to its “emotional” design, attention to detail and large number of innovative technologies offering outstanding performance and efficiency, Mazda products had caught the limelight.

As a result, customers are helping to spread the word about their exceptional experience with Mazda, he added.

Wannapa Tangbanyong, Amorn Prestige dealer, said: “The BMW Service Outlet by Amorn Prestige stands out with remarkable convenience and distinctive new services.

“This includes an online booking service, which allows customers to arrange a service appointment in advance with just one click via www.bmw.co.th, BMW Teleservices, a feature of BMW ConnectedDrive that automatically relays service and maintenance related data to BMW dealers for pre-service arrangements and the Fastlane service that provides a quality range of services and repairs by technicians within just 90 minutes,” she said.

The Rachadapisek Road site was built with a reported investment of over Bt33 million with an area of 1,171 square metres which can support up to 25 vehicles per day.

The BMW Service Outlet by Amorn Prestige also features a selection of BMW accessories.

Shares in the automaker rose briefly, then dove about five percent to $286.15 after an earnings call during which chief executive Elon Musk dismissed as “boring” some questions about money.

The automaker reported net losses of $784.6 million on revenue of $3.4 billion in the first three months of this year.

The adjusted loss per share was $3.35, against expectations of $3.42 on revenue of $3.32 billion.

The California-based firm said that it made “significant progress” in ramping up production of Model 3 vehicles considered key to its success in the mass market.

Prior to a planned shutdown of production to make the system more efficient, Tesla managed to reach 2,270 vehicles a week. That rate is still shy of a goal that Musk had set.

“We continue to target Model 3 production of approximately 5,000 per week in about two months, although our prior experience has demonstrated the difficulty of accurately forecasting specific production rates,” Musk said in an earnings letter to shareholders.

To achieve those Model 3 production numbers, Tesla will shut down its line again this quarter to make modifications, according to Musk.

Tesla expects to shut down production for about 10 days to clear out “bottlenecks” across the lines.

‘High time’ for profit

If improvements go to plan, Tesla could begin showing profit in the second half of this year, he said.

“It is high time we became profitable,” Musk said during an earnings call.

“The truth is, you are not a real company until you are. That is our focus right now.”

Investors and analysts have expressed worry about how fast Tesla has been burning through cash, and stopping losses would be a major step for the company.

“Our initial impression is mixed,” CFRA senior equity analyst Efraim Levy said in a note to investors about the earnings.

“Notably, reported free cash flow was less negative than we expected, but we remain concerned about cash.”

Tesla vowed to cut back projected expenses to just “critical needs” to get the Model 3 production line up to speed and turning a profit.

The Moody’s ratings agency early last month downgraded the company’s credit further into junk status, saying Tesla might run out of cash if it did not raise more than $2 billion.

Battery bottleneck

“We have good visibility of our path to fully ramp and stabilize Model 3 production this year,” Musk said.

“The path to an electrified revolution is not easy, but what we’re trying to achieve is worth fighting for.”

Production bottlenecks have plagued the company, with much of its future banked on the Model 3, its first mid-price, mass-market vehicle.

Making battery packs fast enough has been identified as a bump on the road to cranking out more Tesla cars.

Musk said that the company’s northern California plant is “packed to the gills” and that later this year Tesla will decide where to build a second facility at which a new Model Y will be built.

Tesla will also announce a China location for a new “Gigafactory” that will produce batteries as well as vehicles, according to Musk.

“In the future, all Gigafactories will include vehicle production,” he said.

The continued struggle to ramp up production comes as Tesla is facing a federal investigation into a recent fatal crash involving Autopilot, its driver assistance system, and the voluntary recall of 123,000 Model S sedans announced last week.

During the call, Musk passionately defended the potential for self-driving cars to dramatically reduce accident fatalities and railed at the media for “inflammatory” headlines that could turn public opinion and regulators against the technology.

In March, 34,765 passenger cars were sold marking an increase of 3.8 per cent compared to the same month last year, while 60,317 commercial vehicles were sold, up 17.5 per cent.

Toyota was the top-selling brand in March, with sales of 26,717 units (up 21 per cent), followed by Isuzu with 18,811 units (up 16.2 per cent) and Honda with 10,197 units (down 19.2 per cent).

From January to March, Toyota is also the leader with an aggregate of 64,234 units (up 9,3 per cent), followed by Isuzu with 44,316 units (up 6,3 per cent) and Honda with 28,435 units (down 5.8 per cent).

Vudhigorn Suriyachantana-nont, executive vice president of TMT, said sales growth in March was a direct result of new models being launched during the first quarter as well as the promotions offered at the Bangkok International Motor Show in late March.

“Auto sales grew in the first three months of 2018 due to the ongoing economic recovery as well as the various sales promotions from the start of the year that helped boost the auto market,” he said.

With strong demand from the Bangkok International Motor Show continuing to April, in addition to stronger consumer confidence in the general economy, the market is expected to continue expanding, he added.

“With increased exports and growth in tourism, despite the continuous strengthening of the baht and low prices for agricultural products, the automobile market has not been affected much,” Vudhigorn said.

AP Honda president Yoiji Mizutani said the CUB House brings together motorcycles, food and beverages.

“We opened in mid-April and have received a tremendous response beyond our expectations,” he said. “This is another successful project and is a destination that bikers must visit.”

The site also has motorcycle styling shops such as H2C, Bikers, G Craft, Kitaco and Moriwaki.

Forty CUB House branches are planned across the country by 2020.