In 2023, Changan Auto confirms that it will build a factory in Thailand
Changan Auto will build a factory in Thailand
On August 16, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) issued a statement saying that Changan Automobile has submitted an application for investment promotion and will invest 8.8 billion baht (about 250 million U.S. dollars) in Thailand to build an electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle production plant.
It is reported that the annual production capacity of the first phase of the project can reach 100,000 vehicles to meet the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles in Thailand, ASEAN and other export markets.
In response to this news, the relevant person in charge of Changan Automobile said, “The situation is true, and the specific situation is subject to the official release.”
According to Nari Tsatirasha, secretary-general of the Thailand Investment Promotion Council, Changan Automobile announced the above-mentioned investment for the first time at the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year.
“Its investment plan has recently been approved by the Chinese government.”
Establish a research and development center for important components.
He also revealed that Changan Automobile plans to launch electric models in the Thai market by the end of this year and start local production ahead of schedule.
According to official information, Changan Automobile currently has 12 manufacturing bases and 22 factories around the world.
Its brands include self-owned brands such as Changan, Shenlan, Avita, and Kaicheng, as well as joint venture brands such as Changan Ford, Changan Mazda, and Jiangling Motors.
The Southeast Asian market
According to my incomplete statistics, Chinese car companies such as Great Wall Motors, BYD, SAIC Motor, NETA Automobile, and Chery Automobile have all established presence in the Thai market.
At present, both Great Wall Motors and SAIC Thailand factories have been completed and put into operation.
BYD’s Thailand factory is expected to start operation in 2024, with an annual production capacity of about 150,000 vehicles.
The cars produced will be put on the local market in Thailand, while radiating to neighboring ASEAN countries and other regions.
The NETA Motor Thailand plant is expected to start production at the end of January 2024, with an annual production capacity of 20,000 vehicles after completion.
It can be seen that the Southeast Asian market is gradually becoming a new target for car companies.
Tang Zhimin, the founding dean of the International College of Zhengda School of Management in Thailand and director of the China-ASEAN Research Center, once publicly stated that Thailand is the largest new energy vehicle market in Southeast Asia, accounting for 58% of the sales of new energy vehicles in the six Southeast Asian countries in 2022.
According to the research report of CITIC Securities, the registration volume and penetration rate of new energy vehicles in Thailand are increasing significantly.
Kaitai Research Center predicts that the sales volume of electric vehicles in Thailand is expected to reach 50,000 in 2023, among which the pure electric vehicles of the Chinese series will occupy about 85% of the Thai market.
Kaitai Research Center believes that the competition in Thailand’s pure electric vehicle market tends to become more intense, due to the continued increase in the number of market participants, including more Chinese automakers entering Thailand to expand the electric vehicle market.
Wang Weiming, director of the Equipment Industry Division 1 of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, previously publicly stated that ASEAN is China’s third largest source of foreign investment and one of the regions with the fastest growth in China’s foreign investment.
In recent years, Malaysia, Thailand and other ASEAN countries have accelerated the transformation and development of vehicle electrification, and China-ASEAN cooperation in the field of new energy vehicles has achieved fruitful results.
Chinese new energy auto companies represented by BYD, Great Wall, SAIC-GM-Wuling, and Geely have successively launched a model of building factories locally, purchasing parts locally, and selling locally, laying a solid foundation for the continuous in-depth cooperation between the two parties.
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