Thailand-made EVs exceed 600,000 units per year

BANGKOK, June 19 (TNA) - The Ministry of Industry says that the total annual production capacity of electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand has already exceeded 600,000 units. Permanent Secretary for Industry Pasu Loharjun announced the update while opening the "Automotive Summit 2019", jointly organized by the Thailand Automotive Institute (TAI) and Reed Tradex Company Limited as part of the "Manufacturing Expo 2019 (ME)", at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC) on Wednesday. While delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Automotive Summit 2019, themed "Smart Mobility Driving Tomorrow’s Society", Pasu acknowledged there are now four car manufacturers that have been approved promotional privileges from his ministry's Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), with their total production capacity of over 600,000 yearly. Pasu said that the over 600,000 EVs, totally worth over 50 billion baht, are projects BOI has approved to manufacturers of hybrid cars and plug-in hybrid cars, four each, and a manufacturer of battery-driven EVs. The senior official suggested that producers of automobile parts in Thailand quickly adjust themselves to the new trend of market demand, in which there will be more purchase orders for auto modules, rather than separate parts. Besides, there will be more purchase orders for "smart" auto accessories, including car cameras and relevant software systems, accounting for about 40 per cent of the total price of an EV. Meanwhile, TAI Acting President Adisak Rohitasune stated that TAI plans to open its battery testing center for EVs, the first of its kind in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), by 2020. According to the TAI acting president, manufacturers in the Thai auto and auto parts industry have increasingly adjusted themselves to the new trend of market demand, witnessed by imports of new machines and parts in the domestic auto industry rose to about 182 billion baht in the first quarter of 2019, a 5 per cent year-on-year expansion. (TNA)