Chery setting up Thailand factory, 50k cars in 2025

Click to enlargeThailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) has officially announced that Chery will be setting up a plant in the kingdom for both domestic consumption and exports. Production will begin in 2025 and it is forecasted that the plant will roll out 50,000 EVs and hybrids that year itself, before production reaches 80,000 units per annum by 2028.

This was announced by BoI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi, who also said that Wuhu-based Chery will be the eighth automaker from China to set up a manufacturing plant in Thailand, joining names such as BYD, Great Wall Motor and Changan, among others.

According to Reuters, the ASEAN automotive hub’s subsidies and tax incentives for EVs have attracted a wave of investment from China, which automakers have committed more than US$1.44 billion (RM6.88 billion) worth of investments. Thailand aims to convert about a third of its annual production of 2.5 million vehicles into EVs by 2030.

Click to enlargeLast month, it was reported that Omoda & Jaecoo Thailand, a subsidiary of Chery, is planning a new EV factory in Rayong, Thailand. According to Bangkok Post, production is set to start in 2025, and the plant will initially produce cars for domestic and ASEAN markets. Chery has plans to make Rayong a global export base, supplying Oceania and the Middle East.

 

 

“We plan to divide our manufacturing into two phases. In the first phase, which starts in 2025, annual production capacity will stand at 50,000 units. The number will increase to 80,000 units a year in 2028,” said Qi Jie, vice-managing director for South Asia at Chery International.

“Our BEVs will make up 70% of total car production, with the remaining 30% belonging in the PHEV category,” Qi said, adding that he believes Thailand has great potential to develop an EV industry thanks to the government’s EV3.5 scheme. EV3.5 is Thailand’s EV incentive scheme that comprises subsidies and a reduction in import duties and excise tax to promote electric vehicle production and purchase from 2024 to 2027.

The Omoda E5 EV and Jaecoo J7 PHEV will be Chery’s first models in ThailandFor now, O&J’s cars will be CBU imported from China and the sales target for the Omoda C5 EV (Chery Omoda E5 in Malaysia) and Jaecoo 7 plug-in hybrid (Jaecoo J7 is launching soon in Malaysia, but as a pure-ICE model) is 6,000 units this year. The company plans to set up 35 showrooms in the Land of Smiles, with 20 of those to be located in capital city Bangkok.

What does this mean for Malaysia? While Chery has CKD operations in our country, capacity is somewhat limited at Inokom in Kulim, Kedah, as the facility is shared with other brands. Should demand grow, might Chery Malaysia source some models from across the border to expand its range?

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