Two Malaysian firms are boldly venturing into the automotive industry in Thailand, despite next year's gloomy outlook.

Detik Benua Co, a finance company in Malaysia, is teaming up with Spiral Circuit Co (Malaysia), the distributor of Johnson Electric car micro motors in ASEAN, to make inroads into the Thai automotive market from next year.

They plan to invest at least 20 billion baht over the next three years in establishing a production site for high-tech auto parts and vehicles.

Max Tan, a representative of Detik Benua and executive director of Spiral Circuit, said the Malaysian consortium was in the process of establishing Spiral Circuit Co (Thailand) as a wholly owned subsidiary in the first quarter of next year.

Once the joint-venture company is set up, automotive applications will be ready to import within the first quarter.

"We believe in Thailand. It remains ASEAN's second largest economy with plenty of skilled and semi-skilled labour, especially in automotive contract manufacturing," said Mr Tan, who will be chief executive of the Thai unit.

"We are aware that the global financial crisis and credit crunch have affected our region too. But we are unfazed. Investing in ASEAN has always been our priority and this region remains attractive for us to start smart and strategic partnerships."

Capital will be invested in phases under a three-year plan. The first phase involves producing selected parts and later vehicles. Initially, the consortium will make electric motors for hybrid cars, which will be built in Thailand later.

"These hybrid vehicles are being realised today as the technology is mature enough to be in mass-produced vehicles. So we have teamed up with world-class technology experts in hybrid motors," said Mr Tan.

"We are also here to set up a low-volume manufacturing facility to build locally made vehicles that are scalable and demand-driven. We plan to meet all market segments and address public transport systems that will use this technology to reduce noise and pollution in ASEAN cities," he said.

Spiral Circuit, Detik Benua's technology partner, is currently the distributor for Johnson Electric in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Johnson Electric is the world's largest manufacturer of micro motors for car windows, central locking systems, air-conditioning units and other functions.