Chinese manufacturers have shown interest in investing in the production of electric vehicles (EV) in Thailand to the tune of 1.44 billion US dollars, deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said on Sunday.
Ms Rachada's comments followed events organised by the office of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) for local and foreign investors in various industrial groups including aviation and space, energy, food and modern vehicles, particularly EVs.
During those events, Chinese EV manufacturers showed high interest in investing in Thailand and the investment was expected to be over 1.44 billion US dollars thanks to the Thai government's investment promotion under the 30/30 policy, she claimed. Under the policy, by the year 2030 Thailand's production of EVs must constitute 30% of all vehicles produced in the country.
The arrival of Chinese EV manufacturers would help enhance the popularity of EVs in Thailand, which is the second largest car market in the Asean region, she said.
The Ministry of Industry's figures indicated that in the first half of 2023 about 31,000 EVs were registered in Thailand - three times more than the number of EVs registered in the whole of 2022.
According to the Board of Investment (BOI), GSC Aion New Energy Automobile, China's third largest EV-producing company, has agreed to spend 6,000 million baht in the first phase of investment in Thailand.
Moreover, Svolt Energy Technology (Thailand) Company, China's producer of EV batteries in Thailand, has made Thailand a production base - the first in the Asean region - with an investment of about 1,000 million baht. With Thailand as the production hub, EV batteries will be further exported to Indonesia and Vietnam.
"The government has continued to promote investments in the EEC and other major economic zones, particularly in the EV industry, since Thailand has the potential to be the hub for EV production. The BOI has offered promotional privileges and benefits to investors from all over the world," Ms Rachada said.
