BOI approves investment privileges for Hyundai’s EV manufacturing project

The Board of Investment (BOI) has approved investment privileges for Hyundai Mobility (Thailand) Co Ltd to invest in EV and battery manufacturing in Thailand, the board’s top official said on Wednesday.

BOI Office secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said the board had approved tax and other privileges for Hyundai Mobility to build plants for manufacturing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and to assemble EV battery modules to supply to EV manufacturers.

Narit said Hyundai would initially invest 1 billion baht in the project and its Thai partners would be Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Co Ltd and Thonburi Energy Storage Manufacturing Co Ltd.

Narit said the Hyundai factories would start operations in 2026 and the South Korean manufacturer was still in the process of considering Thai suppliers for their plants.

Narit added that the BOI would work closely with Hyundai to select suppliers of key parts to promote a supply chain within the country as much as possible.

Narit added that Hyundai’s selection of Thailand as its EV and battery manufacturing base showed the South Korean firm’s confidence in the country’s potential and the government’s policies to support the EV-related industries.

He said the investment by Hyundai would enhance Thailand’s strength in its bid to become the EV hub in the region and would provide business opportunities to Thai auto parts suppliers.

Narit noted that the EV industry continued to grow globally. The Global EV Outlook 2024 has reported that the first quarter of this year saw EV sales expand by 25% and it predicted that the sales of EVs worldwide would reach 17 million units by the end of this year.

Narit said the BOI had so far approved investment privileges for investments of BEV, batteries and parts manufacturing as well as charging stations in the country with a combined investment value of 80 billion baht.