Omoda & Jaecoo (Thailand) is the latest Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker to source components domestically to serve its assembly plant, which is scheduled to start operations in August this year, says the Board of Investment (BoI).
The company, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned Chery Automobile, agreed to partner with 50 parts manufacturing companies during the Omoda & Jaecoo Sourcing Day, recently held in Bangkok to seek cooperation with local EV component makers.
"These business matchings are expected to generate 2.1 billion baht in trade value," said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BoI.
Omoda & Jaecoo plans to have locally sourced EV components make up 45-50% of the total this year, rising to 70-80% in five years.
The selected manufacturers are among 200 companies that participated in the event.
The BoI promotes investment in EV assembly plants in Thailand and wants auto parts manufacturers and suppliers in the country to benefit from the growth of the EV industry.
Under the "30@30" policy, Thailand expects EVs to represent at least 30% of total auto production by 2030, with 725,000 zero-emission cars, 675,000 electric motorcycles, and 34,000 electric buses and trucks.
The government has launched incentive packages to persuade EV companies to invest in Thailand, with many of them coming from China.
Chery Automobile chose Thailand as its production base to make right-hand-drive EVs domestically and sell them to Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
Omoda & Jaecoo plans to make battery EVs at its factory in Rayong. Annual production capacity is set at 50,000 vehicles in the first phase, according to the BoI.
The company also plans to invest in a battery pack assembly facility project in Thailand, said Mr Narit.
Over the past two years, the BoI has organised the sourcing day events to help six Chinese EV makers seek local parts manufacturers. Their cooperation is expected to generate a total of 48 billion baht in trade value.
