Chinese car manufacturer Changan Automobile has selected Thailand as the location for its first right-hand drive electric vehicle (EV) production facility outside of China.
Changan will invest 9.8bn baht ($285m) to build the facility, which will have an initial production capacity of 100,000 vehicles. The vehicles will be sold in the Thai market and exported to other countries in south and east Asia, and to the Australian, New Zealand, UK and South African markets.
The factory will produce battery EVs, plug-in hybrid EVs, range-extended EVs and the batteries required for these vehicles.
The investment is part of a push by the Government of Thailand to establish the country as a hub for EV manufacturing. Thailand’s Board of Investment, a national investment promotion agency, has previously approved 26 EV production projects across the country, with further investment announcements expected soon.
Taiwan-based Foxconn is already building an EV factory in Thailand, which is expected to produce its first vehicles in 2024.
Headquartered in Chongqing, Changan is China’s fourth-largest auto manufacturer with more than two million vehicle sales recorded in 2022. Both Ford and Mazda have joint investment vehicles with the company to produce vehicles for the Chinese market.
Source : Investment Monitor