Byd joins Thailand's new energy vehicle manufacturing boom

Byd has become the latest Chinese carmaker to invest in the production of new energy vehicles in Thailand. The company signed a land purchase agreement on Sept. 8 to build a new energy vehicle production plant in Thailand.

The plant is scheduled to have an initial annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and start production in 2024. The models will be sold in Southeast Asia and Europe. In August, Thailand's Board for Investment Promotion (BOI) also approved BYD to benefit from incentives offered to investors along the local NEV value chain.

Chinese automakers Great Wall Motor and SAIC Motor MG already sell several new energy vehicles in Thailand, some of which are produced locally. New energy vehicles are an entry point for these companies into Southeast Asia's auto market, which is dominated by Japanese automakers.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects annual sales of new energy passenger vehicles in Southeast Asia to grow to nearly 81,000 units in 2025, up from just 16,000 in 2021. The entry of new entrants such as BYD will increase the supply of affordable models over the next three years and could lift sales above current forecasts.