Thailand approves US$1bil investment from China's Sunwoda for EV battery plant

BANGKOK: Thailand's Investment Board said today it had approved a US$1 billion (RM4.4bil) investment from China's Sunwoda Electronic to build an electric vehicle battery plant, the latest in a series of new EV-related projects in the regional automaking hub.

The Shenzhen-based firm will create 1,000 jobs in Thailand for production of lithium-ion battery cells for EV manufacturers at a facility that would include manufacturing, research and product development.

Thailand is Southeast Asia's largest auto production and export centre, home to major carmakers like Toyota and Honda.

But the sector is the midst of a major slump, however, with Thai autos output down by a tenth last year to a four-year low and domestic sales and exports slumping 26% and 8.8% respectively.

In recent years, Chinese EV makers like BYD, Great Wall Motor and others have poured more than 102.7 billion baht (RM13.3bil) into the country, according to the EV industry association.

The government this week said it plans tax incentives for plug-in hybrid vehicles and credit guarantees for pick-up truck purchases.

Japanese automaker are also seeking government support for a car trade-in and scrapping scheme to stimulate sales, Reuters reported last month.