Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Industrial Policy, Global Value Chains, and the Southeast Asian Automotive Industry 3. Overview of the Automotive Industry in Southeast Asia 4. Japanese Automotive MNCs and ASEAN 5. Thailand 6. Indonesia 7. Malaysia 8. The Philippines 9. Vietnam 10. Conclusions

About the Author

Kaoru Natsuda is a professor, College of International Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan, and visiting professor, Budapest Business School. He was formerly a visiting scholar at Charles University, Prague. He obtained his PhD in economics from the University of Sydney, Australia, and his MA in international development studies from the University of Bradford, UK. He has published papers including in Review of International Political Economy, European Journal of Development Research, Canadian Journal of Development Studies, and Asia Europe Journal. He serves as a senior associate editor of PSU Research Review and editorial board member of International Journal of Development Issues.

John Thoburn holds a PhD degree from the University of Alberta, Canada, and is Emeritus Reader in Economics, School of International Development, University of East Anglia, UK. After retiring from East Anglia, and after six months as a visiting professor at Kobe University, Japan, he became Professor of Development Economics, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, and then visiting professor until 2017. He is the author of five books on development, and published articles including in Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Development Studies, Review of International Political Economy, and Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy (on whose editorial board he serves).

Reviews

"The transition from labour-intensive to skill- and technology-intensive manufacturing, which has been crucial for countries in the region aspiring to elevate their positions in global value chain (GVCs), has attracted considerable attention from academics and policy makers. This book by Kaoru Natsuda and John Thoburn is a timely addition to the discourse as it explores the role of industrial policies in the development of the automotive sector." ─ Tham Siew Yean for Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, Volume 38, Issue 1, April 2021"To begin with I must admit that I reviewed the book proposal for the publisher (Routledge) in 2018 and that I strongly endorsed the book – together with some other reviewers. Today, after having read the finished book, I do not regret, on the contrary. The purpose of Kaoru Natsuda and John Thoburn was on the one hand to consolidate factual knowledge about Southeast Asian automobile producing countries and how they have performed during an era of economic globalisation and regionalisation until the late 2010s. And on the other hand they aimed to analyse how various industrial policies have affected the evolution of automobile industries in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam (ASEAN-5) under different trade regimes, and how industrial policy can be used in an increasingly open economic environment. The two authors have adjusted and implemented the book proposal into a highly read-able, informative and reflective book." ─ Peter Wad for Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 18 May 2022

"The transition from labour-intensive to skill- and technology-intensive manufacturing, which has been crucial for countries in the region aspiring to elevate their positions in global value chain (GVCs), has attracted considerable attention from academics and policy makers. This book by Kaoru Natsuda and John Thoburn is a timely addition to the discourse as it explores the role of industrial policies in the development of the automotive sector." ─ Tham Siew Yean for Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, Volume 38, Issue 1, April 2021"To begin with I must admit that I reviewed the book proposal for the publisher (Routledge) in 2018 and that I strongly endorsed the book – together with some other reviewers. Today, after having read the finished book, I do not regret, on the contrary. The purpose of Kaoru Natsuda and John Thoburn was on the one hand to consolidate factual knowledge about Southeast Asian automobile producing countries and how they have performed during an era of economic globalisation and regionalisation until the late 2010s. And on the other hand they aimed to analyse how various industrial policies have affected the evolution of automobile industries in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam (ASEAN-5) under different trade regimes, and how industrial policy can be used in an increasingly open economic environment. The two authors have adjusted and implemented the book proposal into a highly read-able, informative and reflective book." ─ Peter Wad for Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 18 May 2022