Chinese EV maker will invest 6 billion baht in Thai plant: BOI
China’s third-largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, GAC AION New Energy Automobile, will invest more than 6 billion baht to build a manufacturing plant in Thailand, the Board of Investment said on Friday.
Narit Terdsathirasak, the board’s secretary-general, said the deal followed negotiations with seven agencies: the Excise Department, Customs Department, Office of Industrial Economics, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, Department of Business Development, Department of Land Transport, and Thai Subcontracting Promotion Association.
GAC AION sold more than 270,000 vehicles last year and expects to sell at least 600,000 units this year through its business expansion to Thailand, which will see a total of 6 billion baht invested here in the first phase, Narit said.
GAC AION makes intelligent connected EVs with batteries that can power a more than 1,000km trip.
The company has also developed a luxury super car it says has the fastest accelleration rate: 100km per hour in 1.9 seconds. The company co-develops EV technology and co-manufactures EVs with other global brands like Toyota and Honda.
Narit said the Board of Investment and the seven agencies have also presented Thailand’s latest EV promotion measures, known as “EV 3.5 package” to attract EV makers to invest in Thailand as a hub for EV manufacturing in Southeast Asia.
Thailand’s goal is to produce 30% of EVs sold here within the country by 2030.
Under the EV 3.5 measures, the government will provide subsidies of about 100,000 baht per vehicle for imported EVs and require car manufacturers to establish EV manufacturing plants in Thailand at a ratio of two to three times the number of imports.
