China's BYD Company opened an electric vehicle factory in Thailand on Thursday, marking its first plant in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is a rapidly growing market for electric vehicles, and BYD has already established itself as a dominant player in the region.
At the opening ceremony, BYD's CEO and President Wang Chuanfu stated, "Thailand has a clear vision for electric vehicles and is entering a new era of automobile manufacturing. We will bring Chinese technology to Thailand."
BYD's factory is part of a wave of investments by Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers in Thailand, totaling over $1.44 billion. These investments have been supported by Thai government subsidies and tax incentives.
BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares rose by 3.2% to HKD 237.60, marking their biggest single-day increase since June 13.
According to the Thai government's plan, by 2030, Thailand aims to convert 30% of its annual production of 2.5 million vehicles to electric vehicles.
Thailand is a regional hub for automobile assembly and exports, traditionally dominated by Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, and Isuzu.
Secretary-General of Thailand's Board of Investment, Narit Therdsteerasukdi, said, "BYD is using Thailand as a production base to export to ASEAN and several other countries."
The factory, announced two years ago, has an investment value of $490 million and an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, including plug-in hybrid cars.
Located in Thailand's eastern Rayong district, the large factory will employ about 10,000 workers. On Thursday, some workers were seen operating machines as BYD's Dolphin model bodies moved along the assembly line.
