Thailand's electric vehicle industry looks forward to a wave of Chinese investment

According to the Bangkok Post of Thailand on the 16th, the deputy spokesman of the Prime Minister's Office of Thailand Rachaida said that the Chinese electric vehicle industry showed great interest in investing in Thailand, and the total investment is expected to exceed 1.44 billion dollars. This is one of the major achievements of the Thai government in attracting investment.

According to the report, the Thai government previously introduced a policy called "30/30" aimed at achieving the goal of electric vehicles accounting for 30% of the country's total automobile production by 2030. Rajada said that the arrival of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers will increase the popularity of electric vehicles in Thailand. Thailand has the potential and ability to become a production and investment center for electric vehicles in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the government will continue to promote the development of various industries in the Eastern Economic Corridor region, especially in the field of electric vehicles.

According to statistics from the Thai Ministry of Industry, the number of registered electric vehicles in Thailand exceeded 31000 in the first half of 2023, which is three times the total number in 2022. Reuters quoted data from the Thai government as stating that out of nearly 850000 new cars registered in Thailand last year, only about 1% were electric vehicles. But between January and April this year, this proportion rose to over 6%.

Reuters reported that Thailand is the largest automobile producer and exporter in Southeast Asia, and the second largest sales market after Indonesia. Japanese automakers used to dominate here, but China surpassed Japan last year as Thailand's largest foreign investor in the automotive industry. Reuters analysis suggests that this is because the wave of electric vehicles in China is reshaping the Thai automotive industry, while Japan is making slow progress in this regard.