Chinese state-owned Chery Automobile’s Thai subsidiary, Omoda & Jaecoo (Thailand) Company Ltd, said it aims to have a local content of between 45% and 50% in its Thai-made electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of the year.
The automaker is scheduled to begin operations at its new vehicle assembly plant in Thailand’s Rayong Province in August. The facility will have an initial production capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year, with a battery pack assembly line also scheduled to be installed at the plant. The plant will supply EVs to right-hand drive markets across South-east Asia.
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Earlier this month the automaker held the Omoda & Jaecoo Sourcing Day in Bangkok, with around 200 local automotive component manufacturers taking part. The company said it has already agreed to source components from 50 of these manufacturers.
Narit Therdsteerasukdi, the general secretary of the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) told local reporters at the event: “These business matchings are expected to generate THB2.1bn (US$62m) in revenue.”
Omoda & Jaecoo said it plans to increase local content in its Thai-made vehicles to between 70-80% within five years.
The Thai automotive industry has been struggling with a sharp slowdown in domestic vehicle sales in the last year, with overall volumes plunging by 26% to 572,675 units last year while vehicle production dropped by 20% to 1,468,997 units.
