South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company has revealed plans to invest THB1bn (US$30m) to establish a battery electric vehicle (BEV) assembly operation in Thailand, after the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) confirmed the project would qualify for investment incentives under the government’s EV3.5 programme.

Hyundai Mobility Manufacturing (Thailand) Company Ltd confirmed it plans to assemble its Ioniq BEV series and related batteries packs for the local market in partnership with contract assembler Thonburi Automotive Assembly Company Ltd. Production at the Samut Prakan facility near Bangkok is scheduled to start in 2026.

Thonburi Automotive previously assembled the Hyundai Sonata passenger car and currently produces Mercedes-Benz vehicles at its facilities in Samut Prakan.

Hyundai Motor already has a major production hub in Indonesia to supply regional markets. The facility, near the city of Bekasi, has a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year after the first phase of the investment was completed at the end of 2022. The facility currently makes the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona EV models.

Hyundai said it plans to increase its investments in Indonesia to US$1.6bn by 2030, including in a US$1.1bn BEV battery manufacturing joint venture with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd. The facility came on stream earlier this year with an initial annual production capacity of 10 GWh of NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) lithium-ion batteries.

Hyundai Mobility Manufacturing (Thailand) Company’s CEO, Jae Gyou Chung, told reporters the automaker had designated Thailand as a “strategic location in the Asean region” after it received Thai government support through its EV3.5 proramme.

He confirmed: “Hyundai received official approval from the BOI to invest in the production of Ioniq electric vehicles and batteries. This project is a result of collaboration between Hyundai Mobility Manufacturing (Thailand) and a key partner, a leading domestic automotive assembly plant.”