Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors reportedly plans to establish a $30 million battery pack factory in Thailand, Reuters reports citing a company official.
It is worth noting that Thailand will also house GWM’s compact electric car production in 2024.
Apart from these major projects, the automaker is also apparently planning an R&D center in the country to study battery-powered pickup trucks, GWM Managing Director Narong Sritalayon stated in an interview.
Why is it important?
Chinese car companies such as GWM and BYD have already invested a great deal in Thailand. Still, Japanese legacy automakers like Toyota and Isuzu lead the country’s auto industry, with pickup trucks contributing to over 50% of overall sales in 2022.
That said, this new substantial investment will indeed advance GWM’s position in the domestic market, allowing it to catch up with the current industry leaders.
“I think there is a lot of things we can learn from Thailand’s unique market for pickup trucks.”
GWM Managing Director Narong Sritalayon
It is also worth noting that Thailand is the tenth-biggest car manufacturing economy globally. Remarkably, its government intends to employ tax cuts and incentives to boost the country’s 2030 electrification target of having EVs account for approximately 30% of its annual production of 2.5 million units.
GWM’s footprint in Thailand
Great Wall Motors debuted its famous Ora Good Cat compact electric car in Thailand in late 2021. In 2022, it advanced as the county’s best-selling EV, which is unsurprising given its affordability.
The entry-level variant of the Ora Good Cat starts at 828,500 Thai baht ($24,475), including the government subsidy of 230,500 baht.
In hindsight, the Chinese automaker penetrated the Thai market in 2020 when it acquired GM’s former factory, which now produces the company’s Haval HEVs.
As mentioned, GWM will start domestic production in the country in 2024, which will obviously focus on the best-selling model Ora Good Cat. According to Managing Director Narong, the automaker will work on its local component sourcing to fulfill the government’s standard for EV incentives.
What to expect?
An EV battery pack factory may need a 500 million-1 billion Thai baht investment. However, Managing Director Narong clarified that it would depend on the project plan anticipated to be completed in the following six months.
Apart from using the battery output from the planned factory, the automaker also looks to be a major supplier to its rival automakers.
“We may become a contract manufacturer of batteries to other (automakers) as well. That would also scale up the capacity of the battery plant.”
GWM Managing Director Narong Sritalayon
See Also:
- China’s Ora Funky Cat gets five-star Euro NCAP rating
- GWM to introduce Ora as South Africa’s cheapest EV
- Price and specifications for the 2023 GWM Ora in Australia
- Great Wall Motor presents WEY Coffee 01, ORA Funky Cat at the 2022 Paris Motor Show
- Thailand promotes investment for electric vehicle production
As of now, Chinese power battery giant CATL supplies the imported Ora Good Cat 500 Ultra variant with a 63.1 kWh battery pack. With GWM’s upcoming battery plant, it said it currently does not intend to source batteries from the CATL for the planned local production in 2024.
