THAILAND REPORT
Thailand’s state-owned energy giant, PTT says it will start producing EVs in 2024 in a joint venture with Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry. They will build a plant in eastern Thailand with an annual production capacity of 50,000 units, which they plan to increase to 150,000 units by 2030.
PTT and Hon Hai have established a joint venture company, Horizon Plus, which is 60% owned by PTT and 40% by Hon Hai, to produce EVs. The two companies had signed a joint venture agreement in September 2009. The total investment is expected to be US$ 1 billion to US$ 2 billion.
Based on the platform for EVs developed by Hon Hai, the company will produce vehicles in cooperation with auto parts companies clustered in Thailand.
Thailand, the largest auto producer in Southeast Asia, has set a goal of having 30% of its domestic vehicles be EVs by 2030. However, Japanese automakers, which account for 90% of the domestic production, are prioritizing EV production in Europe, the US, and China.
The Thai government hopes to encourage local parts manufacturers and others to shift to EVs through PTT, the largest state-owned company in Thailand. To promote the use of EVs, PTT started a rental business for EVs sold by other manufacturers on April 4. The company is also installing EV chargers at its service stations throughout the country. In October 2009, Hon Hai unveiled its first EV prototype. The company plans to mass-produce it in Thailand, China, and the US.
Source: The Nikkei
PSR Analysis: Thailand is becoming the center of a new EV competition. China’s Great Wall Motor (GWM) has also announced that it will launch five EV models locally within this year. Changan Automobile, Geely Automobile, and Chery Automobile are also planning to enter the Thai market. Mercedes-Benz will also start producing EVs by the end of this year, and Foxconn has already announced that it will set up an EV plant in Thailand.
In 2020, Thailand will have 40 million vehicle registrations, of which EVs will account for only about 0.5%, while EV registrations will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24% between 2016 and 2020, increasing from about 81,000 to about 192,000.
Many companies are bringing EVs to market, driven by investment support from Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI). The ambitious forays by Chinese companies are particularly noteworthy, and it will be very important to see how Japanese companies, with their high market share, will compete in Southeast Asia. Toyota has announced 15 models of BEVs, many of which will be launched in Thailand. The competition will intensify. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia, for Power Systems Research
