EV’s from Japanese car manufacturer coming for ASEAN buyers
Four Japanese automakers have pledged to invest a combined THB150bn (USD4.3bn) to produce battery electric vehicle (EV’s) in Thailand over the next five years, as they respond to the advancement of the Chinese automotive industry (especially EV’s) into southeast Asia.
This means, Malaysia has missed the opportunity to enjoy this huge investment and knowledge transfer in EV manufacturing.
Thailand’s prime minister Srettha Thavisin made the announcement after holding meetings with leading executives of Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda Motor Company, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Isuzu Motors Ltd during his visit to Japan last month.
Meanwhile, all these Japanese auto manufacturers have invested heavily over the decades and been manufacturing vehicles in Thailand for the Asia Pacific region and this why the Kingdom has often been referred to as “the Detroit of Asia.”
Thailand wants to play a leading part in the global transition to zero emission vehicles (EV’s), with the government targeting 30 percent of the two million or so vehicles produced annually in the country to be mainly battery-powered.
Interestingly, the Thailand automotive industry has a target of converting 30 percent of the 2.5 million vehicles made in the Kingdom into electric vehicles by 2030.
The government is formulating new packages of incentives to encourage more investment in and transition to electric vehicle manufacturing.
Sales of EV’s are estimated to have grown fivefold to 75,000 units last year to account for almost 10 percent of the country’s domestic vehicle market, making Thailand by far the largest BEV market in South-east Asia which is more than twice the size of the region’s largest automotive market which is Indonesia.
EV sales growth has been driven mainly by the recent entry of Chinese automakers such as BYD, Changan Auto, Geely, Great Wall Motors, SAIC Motor and Chery Auto, which together accounted for over 80 percent of segment sales last year.
BYD claimed the largest share, with its award winning Atto 3 model alone accounting for almost one-third of segment sales. The Japanese car manufacturers are now left to playing catch-up in a market they have dominated for many decades.
