BANGKOK — Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker GAC AION, a subsidiary of GAC Group, on Wednesday opened its first factory in Thailand, a key regional auto export and assembly hub and fast-growing electric vehicle market.
“We will support Thailand’s EV production and promote Thailand as an EV industry center in Southeast Asia,” Zeng Qinghong, GAC Group chairman, said at the factory’s inauguration at an industrial estate in Rayong province, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Bangkok.
Thailand has for decades been a regional auto production hub, dominated by Japanese producers like Toyota Motor and Isuzu Motor.
But a wave of Chinese EV makers is making significant inroads into the market with investments of over $1.44 billion, challenging the Japanese companies while Thai consumers have also been quickly adopting EVs, thanks to government subsidies and tax incentives.
The government aims for 30 percent of its 2.5 million cars produced annually to be EVs by 2030.
GAC AION’s 2.3-billion-baht ($64.03-million) facility will be able to produce 50,000 units vehicles each year, said Pimphattra Wichaikul, Thailand’s minister of industry, at the opening.
“We are using a strategy to produce quickly in a small amount using AI… to reduce waste and minimize cost,” Ma Haiyang, managing director GAC AION Southeast Asia, said.
The new factory comes days after rival Chinese EV maker BYD Motor opened a factory in Thailand, it’s first in Southeast Asia.
The rapid expansion of Chinese EV makers in Thailand has impacted Japanese auto producers. Suzuki Motor last month announced it would shutter a Thai factory that produced as many as 60,000 cars a year.
Honda Motor, Japan’s second-largest automaker, last week said it would consolidate its two factories in Thailand into a single facility. REUTERS
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