Mercedes Benz announced plans to produce lithium ion battery packs for electric and plug in hybrid vehicles in Thailand, as the company anticipates strong demand growth for these vehicles across the region in the next few years.
Mercedes Benz Manufacturing Thailand applied for board of investment tax privileges in January and expects to become the first company to produce electric vehicle batteries in the country.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Governments in the region, including Thailand and Indonesia, are preparing new automotive policies designed to promote sales of electric/hybrid vehicles – in the form of new tax and duties.
The automaker expects to have its new battery production operations up and running by the end of the year at the Thonburi assembly plant in Samut Prakan, on the outskirts of Bangkok. The factory also assembles Mercedes Benz vehicles.
The battery plant will have initial capacity for 5,000 battery sets a year but this can be doubled easily if needed.
