Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. opened a Proving Ground at Rojana Industrial Park, Prachinburi province, Thailand. The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Atchaka Sibunruang, Minister of Science and Technology, the Kingdom of Thailand, and H.E. Shiro Sadoshima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Thailand. Shinji Aoyama, Chief Officer, Regional Operations (Asia & Oceania), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and President and CEO, Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; Yoshiharu Itai, Managing Director and representative of Honda R&D Co., Ltd.; and Hideo Komura, President of Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co., Ltd.

The Honda R&D Asia Pacific Prachinburi Proving Ground is a unique and comprehensive test course specially designed for the Asia & Oceania region. Honda invested 1.7 billion baht to establish the proving ground with new eight test courses covering 800,000 square meters (500 rai), which makes Thailand only the third country where Honda has proving grounds, after Japan and the US.

The new proving ground will be used for automobiles and motorcycles, with various vehicle tests including handling, stability, and overall performance carried out on regionally-developed products. Through this test course, the new proving ground will contribute to the competitive enhancement of Honda products in Thailand and the Asia & Oceania market. The Prachinburi Proving Ground is also expected to be used to test models for other regions in the future, as one of Honda's proving grounds in the world.

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