Increasing foreign investors are interested in the possibility of investing in electric vehicle production in Thailand, thanks to initiatives to attract investment, encourage EV use, and increase local demand for the products, as per Vietnam Plus.
According to the Thai Board of Investment (BOI), the government carried out measures to support electric vehicle companies and encourage people to use the vehicles, which aims to turn the country into a regional electric vehicle production hub.
Thailand’s electric vehicle goal
Notably, Thailand set a target that by 2023, EVs will amount to 30% of its total vehicles, with one million electric vehicles on the roads by 2025 and a target of 15 million EVs within ten years. The market is anticipated to include commercial delivery vans, trucks and buses, and private cars.
BOI data presents that in addition to clear investment promotion policies, factors like increasing demand and Thailand’s market potential also contribute to luring EV manufacturers, batteries, and spare parts. These enterprises intend to pick Thailand as an EV production base to sell in the local market and export to the world, according to Deputy Government Spokesperson Trisulee Trisoranakul.
Furthermore, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), in the first ten months of this year, there were around 12,528 registered EVs, 230% higher than in 2021.
24 new electric vehicle projects
Similarly, automakers are preparing for EV production after the Thailand Board of Investment approved 24 new EV projects last December.
In addition, the government is proposing comprehensive investment incentives to attract manufacturers to produce battery electric vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Mercedes-EQS production line in Bangkok
By the end of 2022, an all-electric Mercedes-EQS will lay out a production line in Bangkok, which marks another breakthrough in Thailand’s journey from conventional automaking hub to regional frontrunner in EV production, according to the Board of Investment.
This shows how important Thailand is to us. The EQS is the absolute highlight of our full battery vehicles – the topmost as far as technology is concerned. In Thailand, we have partners we know can deliver.
Roland Folger, President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz’s Thailand business
The German luxury automaker did not only choose Thailand as its first Southeast Asia location to manufacture the EQS but also picked the Kingdom as one of only seven locations worldwide to produce the high-performance lithium-ion batteries that could power the vehicle for over 700 km on a single charge.
