GM Thailand’s product engineering department has donated 7 engineering test vehicles to 7 technical colleges and universities in Thailand. It has become a part of GM Thailand’s and Chevrolet Sales Thailand’s CSR initiative called ‘Drive a Better Tomorrow’.

The donated vehicles comprises 3 Chevrolet Captivas (1 diesel and 2 petrols), 2 Cruze compact sedans (diesel and petrol) and two Chevrolet Trailblazers.

Those present to observe the presentation ceremony, in addition to representatives from the six educational institutions, were the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, Glyn Davies; Marcos Purty, managing director, GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand and the leadership team from GM and Chevrolet Thailand.

The thinking behind this initiative is this. The engineering team at GM Thailand conducts a lot of tests on each new vehicle before it enters the production phase. Donating these test vehicles after all the testing is done gives these vehicles a second lease of life, and one which supports education at technical and engineering colleges and universities.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Vanchana Unakul, general director of Product Engineering, General Motors Thailand/Southeast Asia, said, “My engineering team and I thought that, although we have learned as much as we needed from these vehicles, they still have something to offer. That is when we thought we should pass this opportunity to students from technical and engineering institutions.”

“Students can dissemble and reassemble these vehicles to understand all the great technologies within them, because our vehicles incorporate the latest technologies and are the result of great engineering work. Engineering and technical skills are crucial to answer the evolving demands of customers,” Unakul added.

Seven technical colleges and universities were selected as recipients this round. They include:

- Hatyai Technical College
- Rayong Technical College
- Thaluang Cementhaianusorn Technical College, Saraburi
- Kalasin Rajabhat University
- Kasetsart University, Sriracha campus
- Srinakharinwirot University, Ongkharak Campus
- Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Bangkok