Thailand continues to attract investment in its electric vehicle (EV) industry, with Chery Automobile being the latest Chinese EV manufacturer to have been granted investment incentives by the Board of Investment (BOI) to build a factory in Rayong province.
The Chinese state-owned company, which will operate the EV assembly facility through its subsidiary Omoda & Jaecoo (Thailand) Co, declined to reveal details regarding its investment.
"We have talked Chery Automobile into investing in Thailand," said BOI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi.
The BOI has been encouraging the company to expand its business into Thailand since 2021. Thai authorities met Chery Automobile executives in 2023, marking a significant step that led to the board's approval of the investment incentives on April 2.
Chery Automobile is expected to be among key companies helping the government grow the EV industry.
The firm is a major car exporter, with a prominent record in this business covering more than 21 years. Last year, Chery Automobile exported a total of 1.8 million cars to various countries, including Australia and countries within Asean and in the Middle East.
Chery Automobile earlier announced that the new factory in Rayong will become its export base. The company plans to produce cars to serve the domestic market and for export to other countries within Asean, Oceania and the Middle East.
The company's EV production plan is split into two phases, according to Qi Jie, president of Omoda & Jaecoo (Thailand). In the first phase, which starts next year, annual production capacity will stand at 50,000 units. The number will increase to 80,000 a year in 2028.
The Rayong plant will produce JAECOO7, a plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV), and Omoda 5 EV, a battery EV (BEV), to serve the premium car segment.
BEVs will make up 70% of EVs manufactured in Rayong, with the remaining 30% being PHEVs, Mr Qi said earlier.
According to Mr Narit, the BOI has so far granted investment incentives to 26 BEV, PHEV and hybrid EV projects from 19 companies, with a total investment value of 80 billion baht.
Other Chinese EV companies, including BYD, MG, Great Wall Motor, Changan Automobile, GAC Aion, Neta and Foton, have also invested in the country.