The Thai government has started talks with China's Dangdai New Energy Technology Co Ltd, aiming to incentivize battery production in the country. CATL is the world's largest EV battery supplier by market share. The deal will see the company open its first factory in Southeast Asia. The Chinese battery maker has made strides in battery technology recently. These include 500Wh/kg batteries that are said to have the energy density to power an airliner. The company also sells electric vehicle batteries to automakers including Ford, Tesla and Volkswagen.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Board of Investment of Thailand, said that we are talking to many companies, not only CATL, but also many companies in the battery industry. This is one of our goals, we hope to attract battery manufacturers to set up factories in Thailand.

Thailand's Electric Vehicle Strategy

The talks are part of the government's strategy to transform the country into an electric vehicle hub. The country offers tax incentives and subsidies for EVs, including a reduction of up to 40% in import duties. To achieve 30% EV adoption by 2030, they are offering subsidies ranging from $2,057 to $4,409 per EV produced.

Thailand was listed by the International Energy Agency in April as a fast-growing electric vehicle market with great potential. In 2021, Taiwan's Foxconn teamed up with Thailand's state-owned energy company PTT in a $1.04 billion joint venture to produce electric vehicles in the country. The electric vehicle factories of both parties will start operation in 2024, with an initial annual production capacity of 50,000 electric vehicles. In 2020, Great Wall Motors bought General Motors' Thailand plant and has since invested $334 million in electric vehicle production in the country.

Liu Yang, chairman of Foxconn, said that regarding PTT's development of electric vehicles and battery charging infrastructure, Foxconn can contribute our expertise and technology to gradually establish a complete, vertically integrated electric vehicle industry in Thailand. Through this open model and local industrial advantages, we believe that Thailand will become a global leader in the development of electric vehicles.Editor/XingWentao