Accoding to the Nation, Chery Automobile, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, has been granted promotional privileges by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) to establish a production facility in Thailand. This approval makes Chery the 8th Chinese EV maker to receive such recognition, joining other prominent manufacturers like BYD, MG, Great Wall Motor, Changan Automobile, GAC Aion, NETA, and Foton.
With a significant export volume of 1.8 million units last year, Chery plans to utilize Thailand as a production hub to cater to the local demand for right-hand drive EVs and to export vehicles to markets in ASEAN, Australia, and the Middle East.
In the initial phase, Chery will set up a factory in Rayong province by the end of 2025 to manufacture both battery EV (BEV) and hybrid EV (HEV) vehicles at a capacity of 50,000 units annually. Subsequently, production capacity is slated to increase to 80,000 units per year by 2028 in the second phase, although the total investment value remains undisclosed.
Chery's EV models will be introduced in Thailand under the names Omoda and Jaecoo, representing the company's sub-brands for international markets. The Omoda C5, Chery's first all-electric SUV model, is set to lead the Thai market around June this year through its 39 newly established showrooms nationwide. Following this, a range of off-road EV models, including the Jaecoo 6, 7, and 8 - the latter two being plug-in hybrid EVs, will be introduced.
The BOI has greenlit 26 investment projects related to electric vehicle manufacturing and assembly from 19 companies, with a cumulative investment exceeding 80 billion baht. Emphasizing Thailand's commitment to becoming a regional EV manufacturing hub under the 30@30 initiative, which aims for zero-emission vehicles to constitute 30% of total automotive production by 2030, Narit Therdsteerasukdi, the BOI secretary-general, highlighted the target's goal of producing 725,000 electric cars and 675,000 electric motorcycles annually.
