BYD Ready To Build An Electric Automobile Factory In Thailand, Will Be The First Factory Outside China

Automotive company BYD will build an EV factory in Thailand (photo: BYD Twitter)

JAKARTA - Chinese automotive company BYD Automobile Co. Ltd announced that the construction of its first electric car factory outside China will be located in Thailand.

Currently, the company has officially signed a contract with WHA Corporation Public Company Limited for the purchase of land and construction of factories in the WHA Rayong 36 Industrial Estate.

BYD described Thailand as the largest auto market in ASEAN and a car manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia, with strong EV ambitions.

"Thailand has a strong base in the auto industry with first-class manufacturing capabilities so we chose to build factories here after careful consideration," said Liu Xueliang, General Manager of the Asia-Pacific Mobile Sales Division BYD quoted from insideEVs.

The new plant in Thailand is expected to be able to start operating in 2024 with an annual production capacity of around 150 thousand vehicles.

In addition to being sold locally, the company also said that there is a possibility that EV products (BEVs and also PHEVs) made at this Thai factory will be exported to neighboring ASEAN countries as well as other regions such as Europe.

"The opening of a new passenger vehicle factory overseas at WHA Industrial Park marks a major step towards BYD's global expansion," Xueliang added further.

Lebih dari itu, Xueliang juga berharap agar masyarakat Thailand dapat memperoleh lebih banyak akses untuk menikmati perjalanan hijau dan kehidupan yang ramah lingkungan.

On the other hand, earlier this year, BYD officially entered into a partnership with R problemVER, which will operate as a local distributor of plug-in BYD cars in Thailand. The sales target for the first year of operation was set at more than 10,000 units.