Chinese car companies deepen their layout in Thailand

Thanks to its advantageous location, policy support, and market potential, the Thai electric vehicle market is becoming an important layout for Chinese car companies.

As of the end of May this year, the production capacity plan of Chinese car companies in Thailand has exceeded 600000 vehicles, and 7 Chinese car companies have built factories in Thailand.

The International Energy Agency's recently released "Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2025" points out that the expansion of China's electric vehicle exports to emerging markets is indispensable.

Among them, Chinese products have accounted for as much as 75% of the electric vehicle market in Thailand, and Chinese car companies' electric vehicle factories are becoming increasingly common in the local area.

Looking at its geographical advantages, Thailand is located in the heart of Southeast Asia, backed by the Southeast Asian market with a population of 680 million and the dividends of free trade among the ten ASEAN countries. On May 20th, China and the ten ASEAN countries fully completed negotiations on the ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0. Under the framework of the Free Trade Area 3.0, China and ASEAN actively promote the upgrading of customs procedures and trade facilitation rules, prioritize standard cooperation in areas such as new energy vehicles and electronic appliances, help reduce the cost and threshold for domestic products to enter each other's markets, and promote the formation of a regional integrated market. Chinese car companies building factories in Thailand not only serve the Thai market, but also radiate to other Southeast Asian countries and markets such as Australia and New Zealand. It is reported that the cars produced by Changan Thailand factory will be exported to other Southeast Asian countries, and are expected to radiate the global right-hand drive car market in the future; Great Wall announced that it will expand the production capacity of its Thai factory in the second quarter of this year, and plans to export the new Ora Good Cat produced in Thailand to Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.

Looking at policy support, in order to encourage the development of the local electric vehicle industry and achieve the goal of "30% electric vehicle production by 2030", Thailand has launched the EV3.0 policy, which means that Thailand will reduce import tariffs on electric passenger vehicles by up to 40% from 2022 to 2023. The premise is that car companies must produce electric vehicles in Thailand in 2024 that are equivalent to the total import volume of electric vehicles from 2022 to 2023 as compensation. This move has attracted many Chinese car companies to invest in production. Currently, seven car companies including BYD, Nezha Automobile, GAC Aion, Changan Automobile, Chery Automobile, SAIC MG, and Great Wall Motors have built factories in Thailand with a planned production capacity of over 600000 vehicles.

Looking at market potential, according to data from the Federation of Thai Industries, domestic car sales in Thailand increased by 0.97% year-on-year to 47190 units in April 2025, with a rebound from a decrease of 0.54% last month. This is the first growth in nearly two years, highlighting the initial recovery of demand. Ji Xuehong, Director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center at Northern Polytechnical University, stated that in the long run, the Thai and Southeast Asian markets have great potential and a favorable development environment. Chinese car companies need to deeply cultivate localization, make good use of Thailand's location and tariff advantages, and further expand overseas markets.

Chinese car companies in Thailand are no longer simply exporting complete vehicles, but have shifted towards a full industry chain layout covering production and manufacturing, localization of components, charging infrastructure, and technology research and development.

In terms of component supply, Chinese automotive related companies are expanding their supply chains in Thailand. For example, the supporting parts companies of Great Wall Motors, including Honeycomb Energy, Noble Auto, and Jinggong Auto, have all landed in Thailand and invested in building factories there. According to a report by Nikkei Chinese website, "With the entry of large Chinese electric vehicle companies into Thailand, car battery and other component companies are also building factories locally. According to data from survey company MarkLines and the Thai government, as of March 2025, the number of Thai local legal persons for automotive related components established by Chinese companies has reached 165.

In terms of charging infrastructure, several Chinese car companies are actively promoting the construction of charging networks in Thailand. Last July, the Thai Charging Alliance, organized by the Thai Electric Vehicle Association and jointly participated by 18 charging station operators, was officially established. As one of the first members of the Thai Charging Alliance, GAC Aion has signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation, planning to build 200 1000 pile supercharging networks in 100 cities across Thailand by 2028.

BYD's Thailand factory has created approximately 10000 job opportunities for the local area; Guangzhou Automobile Aion collaborates with universities such as Northeastern Royal Institute of Technology in Thailand to train Thai technical workers and engineers... As more and more Chinese car companies enter the Thai market, the electric vehicle industry between China and Thailand will achieve a win-win situation and contribute to the continuous deepening of China Thailand friendship.