China's GWM Plans EV Battery Assembly, Research In Thailand

Narong Sritalayon, the managing director of Great Wall Motor Thailand, said that the Hebei-based company is also considering establishing a research and development centre in Thailand to work on battery-powered pickup trucks. The automaker has ten similar development hubs around the world that focus on different technologies. Investment in Thailand, which aims to become a regional electric vehicle (EV) production hub, will be influenced in part by government subsidies, according to Narong.

Despite large investments from China's Great Wall and BYD Co Ltd, Japanese automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Isuzu Motors Ltd dominate Thailand's domestic auto market, with pickup trucks accounting for more than half of sales last year. "I believe there is a lot we can learn from Thailand's unique pickup truck market," Narong said. Thailand, the world's tenth-largest auto manufacturing economy, plans to use tax breaks and subsidies to help convert roughly 30% of the country's annual production of 2.5 million vehicles to EVs by 2030.

In late 2021, Great Wall will launch its Ora Good Cat compact EV in Thailand. It was the country's best-selling EV last year, with the cheapest variant listed on Great Wall's website costing 828,500 Thai baht (US$24,475 or RM109,610) after a 230,500 baht government subsidy. Great Wall entered Thailand in 2020 after acquiring a former General Motors Co plant, where it currently produces two Haval hybrid vehicles for sale in the country. According to Narong, the company intends to start producing the Ora Good Cat in Thailand next year and will look to source more components locally, including battery packs, to meet requirements under the government's incentive scheme for carmakers.

A pack assembly facility could cost between 500 million and one billion Thai baht, with the exact size determined by a plan that will be finalised within the next six months, according to Narong. According to the company, SVOLT Energy Technology, a Great Wall subsidiary that has been expanding its presence in other markets such as Europe, will initially produce battery assembly packs in Thailand. However, depending on demand and Thai government support, the facility could be upgraded for battery cell production with additional investment, according to Great Wall.

"We may become a contract manufacturer of batteries for other [automakers] as well," Narong speculated. "This would also increase the battery plant's capacity."

CATL of China supplies a 63.1 kilowatt hour battery pack for the Ora Good Cat 500 Ultra variant imported into Thailand, but Great Wall stated that it currently has no plans to purchase batteries from CATL for its upcoming local production. Thailand is in discussions with CATL, the world's dominant battery supplier with a 37% market share, and other battery manufacturers about establishing manufacturing facilities in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.