Chinese EV Makers Eye Thailand Amid Government Incentives
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Electric vehicle manufacturers across China have been streaming into Thailand. These manufacturers have committed to making a $1.44 billion investment in production facilities based in the largest auto-making hub in Southeast Asia. The region has been dominated by Japanese companies.
Chinese EV makers are moving to Thailand
The fresh investments by Chinese EV manufacturers in Thailand are being backed by the Thailand government. The government is offering incentives to attract Chinese firms. The country wants to have around 30% of the annual vehicle production being in EVs by 2030.
A report by Reuters said that among the Chinese EV makers moving to Thailand is Great Wall Motor. The company first moved to Thailand in 2020 after the acquisition of General Motors. The manufacturer will spend 22.6 billion baht to transform it into a regional production center for EV and hybrid vehicles.
Great Wall Motor plans to start manufacturing the compact Ora Good Cat EV in Thailand in 2024. Its rival, SAIC Motor, has partnered with Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group. SAIC Motor plans to invest 500 million baht to boost production at its existing plant for EV parts and battery manufacturing.
BYD, another Chinese EV maker, is making a 17.9 billion baht investment for a new facility in Thailand. The new facility will produce 150,000 passenger cars annually from 2024. Some of the manufactured cars will be exported to Europe and Southeast Asia.
More investment deals by Chinese EV makers in Thailand
More investment deals by Chinese EV makers are on the way. The state-owned Chongqing Changan Automobile, which has partnered with Ford and Mazda, is planning to invest 9.8 billion baht for the first right-hand drive factory in an offshore location.
GAC Aion, which is a subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group, is planning to invest over 6.4 billion baht to manufacture EVs in Thailand. Cherry Automobile in China is also showing interest in investing in Thailand, and it plans to enter this market early next year.
Geely, an automaker based in China, is making early-stage plans to venture into Thailand. The plans made by the company regarding this development include weighing models for import and local manufacturing plans.
The increase in Chinese models seems to be increasing the popularity of EVs in Thailand. Thailand is ranked as the second-largest automaker across the Southeast Asia region. During the first half of 2023, more than 31,000 EVs were registered in Thailand, representing three-fold compared to the previous year.
One of the factors that triggered rapid growth in demand for EVs is the friendly price. The price difference between EVs and combustion engines has narrowed, with the drop largely attributed to government subsidies.
The cheapest model for the Ora Good Cat by Great Wall Motor was ranked as the best-selling EV in Thailand in 2022. The EV costs around 828,500 baht. On the other hand, the NETA V by Hozon is priced at 549,000 baht. The Thailand website for Toyota also shows that the prices have been dropping significantly.
