Amid the rising adoption of cleaner cars around the globe, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has already approved 24 projects by car makers to produce in the country electric vehicles of all types.
This includes hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), with a combined capacity of over 500,000 units per year, BOI data shows.
With the ongoing shift towards EV in the global, regional and domestic markets, Thailand is counting on its strong foundation in the automotive and support sectors, as well as its strategic location, and comprehensive investment incentives to attract car makers investment in EV manufacturing.
The approved projects include Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd.’s 5.48 billion baht investment to upgrade the company’s existing car production line at Laem Chabang Industrial Estate to allow the annual production from 2023 of a total of 39,000 vehicles, consisting of some 9,500 BEVs and 29,500 HEVs.
In June, the BOI also approved a 5.5 billion baht investment by Sammitr Group for the production, in Phetchaburi Province, of 30,000 BEVs.
Both projects, like most others, will aim at the local market and exports, mainly to other ASEAN countries.
Other manufacturers which projects have been approved include BMW (production of PHEVs and partnership with the DRÄXLMAIER Group for the production of high-voltage batteries and battery modules), FOMM, a new Japanese EV brand which name means “First One Mile Mobility”, which has started making compact BEVs at a plant in Chonburi province, and Nissan Motor which has for several years made…
