April 22, according to Nalee, secretary-general of the Board of Investment (BOI) in Thailand, the BOI has approved the investment promotion application of Chery, a well-known Chinese auto manufacturer. Chery Automobile will establish an electric vehicle production base in Thailand to support domestic sales and export to ASEAN, Australia, and the Middle East.
The investment plan of Chery Automobile in Thailand will be carried out and implemented by “Omoda & Jaecoo (Thailand)”. OMODA and JAECOO are overseas marketing brands of Chery Automobile. In the first phase, the company will set up a factory in Rayong Province to achieve an annual production of 50,000 pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles in 2025; in the second phase, the production capacity will be expanded to 80,000 vehicles in 2028.
The company plans to import its first pure electric crossover SUV model “OMODA C5 EV” for sales and market testing. Next, it will launch high-end off-road SUV models such as JAECOO 6 EV, JAECOO 7 PHEV, and JAECOO 8 PHEV, and plans to open 39 showrooms to cover all areas.
Nalee said that Chery’s decision to invest in and establish an electric vehicle production base in Thailand is another milestone for Thailand. Before that, seven Chinese auto manufacturers have set up electric vehicle production bases in Thailand, including BYD, MG Motors, Great Wall Motors, Changan Automobile, GAC Aion, Nezha, and Foton, and Chery is the eighth. This shows that Chinese auto brand companies are full of confidence in the potential conditions of Thailand and the government’s incentive measures.
The BOI China Office has been in talks with Chery since 2021 and provides information to the company’s team on a regular basis. In June 2023, Nalee, secretary-general of the BOI, went to China to hold a meeting with Chery’s executives to introduce the new support measures of the Thai government, and the two sides had more detailed discussions on the investment plan.
In April this year, Qi Jie, president of Omoda & Jaecoo (Thailand) Co., led the executive team to meet with the secretary-general of the BOI to discuss the next phase of the investment plan, including contacting Thai component manufacturers.
Qi Jie said that Thailand is the market with the highest growth rate of electric vehicles in the region and is moving towards becoming a regional center for the production of electric vehicles.
Thailand’s industrial development and the government’s support for new energy vehicles have allowed Chery to see the opportunity to invest in the electric vehicle industry, and it is also in line with the sustainable development concept of Omoda & Jaecoo. The company is committed to developing cars that meet the needs of the Thai people’s lifestyle and plans to use components produced by Thai manufacturers.
At present, the BOI has approved 26 investment promotion production projects of 19 companies, covering pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hybrid vehicles, with an investment value of more than 80 billion baht.
