Charged up: GAC Aion plugs into Thailand’s booming EV market

GAC Aion New Energy Automobile, an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer under Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC), anticipates substantial benefits from the ongoing expansion of Thailand’s EV market. This comes after the recent inauguration of a 2.3-billion-baht EV assembly plant in Rayong.

The company aims to produce up to 70,000 EVs annually for both domestic sales and export, according to Ma Haiyang, general manager of GAC Aion Southeast Asia.

Haiyang believes Thailand offers significant potential for EVs, driven by the government’s EV promotion policy, which provides incentive packages to manufacturers to boost both production and consumption of the vehicles.

The Thai government set an ambitious target for battery EVs to make up 30% of total car manufacturing by 2030. This goal includes the production of 725,000 zero-emission cars, 675,000 electric motorcycles, and 34,000 electric buses and trucks.

From January to May, newly registered battery EVs increased by 31.6% year-on-year to 43,921 units. During the same period, new hybrid EV registrations surged by 53.4% year-on-year to 59,317 units, according to the Federation of Thai Industries, which cited statistics from the Department of Land Transport, said Haiyang.

“Our factory in Thailand will produce 20,000 EVs in the initial phase, with plans to increase production to 70,000 units in the future, depending on market demand.”

GAC Aion aspires to be one of the top three EV brands in Thailand.

Last year, the company announced plans to sell its Aion Y Plus vehicles in the country. This sports utility vehicle is priced between 1.06 and 1.2 million baht.

Thailand marks the first country outside of China where the company has made substantial investments, with plans to incrementally increase investments in the future.

The company unveiled a strategic business plan in 2023, outlining an investment of roughly 6 billion baht in Thailand’s EV sector over the next three to five years. This investment includes the development of an EV manufacturing plant, a battery factory, and additional facilities to support sales both domestically and in the export market.

GAC Aion is also exploring opportunities to expand its market presence in other ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, Singapore, and Myanmar, where there is significant growth potential for EVs, reported Bangkok Post.