Thailand Attracts Investments from Chinese EV Giants
The Board of Investment (BOI) has approved 26 electric vehicle (EV) investment project proposals from 17 companies, which have a total valuation of 86.8 billion baht (US$2.55 billion). In 2022, the cabinet approved a package of incentives for 2022-2025 to promote EV consumption and production. Most recently, Chinese carmaker Changan Automobile has announced that it will invest 9.8 billion baht (US$285 million) to enable the carmaker to produce batteries and three types of EVs in Thailand’s East Economic Corridor. According to Changan Chairman Zhu Huarong, the carmaker intends to invest 4 billion yuan (US$581 million) in Thailand over the next few years. During its first phase of production beginning in 2024, Changan plans to annually produce 100,000 EVs in Thailand, doubling its production target during the second phase. The automobile industry accounts for 10 percent of Thailand’s GDP and manufacturing jobs. In 2021, the National EV Policy Committee announced that it wants EVs to account for 30 percent of local auto production by 2030 to support Thailand’s ambitions of becoming a regional EV production center. The BOI expects two more EV projects to be approved by mid-2023, highlighting another Chinese carmaker’s 6.4 billion baht (US$188 million) investment announced in March and ongoing discussions with the world’s largest EV battery producer CATL.