Asia’s EV battle front opens up as China’s Great Wall Motor plans to launch nine electric car models in Thailand in the next three years

Name: Tesla exports first China-made cars to Europe with shipment of 7,000 Model 3 electric sedans
Uploaded: 2021-02-15T11:30:45.000Z
Duration: 1 min 16 s
Description: Tesla exports first China-made cars to Europe with shipment of 7,000 Model 3 electric sedans

The Baoding, Hebei province-based carmaker plans to launch nine models in three years in Thailand

Company views country as a potential market and as a base for its expansion into the Asean region

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HAVAL SUVs at a GWM assembly plant in Baoding, in China’s northern Hebei province. The company sells cars in more than 60 markets worldwide. Photo: AP

Peggy SitoandJitsiree Thongnoi

Published: 7:30pm, 15 Feb 2021Updated: 11:18pm, 15 Feb 2021

Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) is making a concerted push into Thailand, where demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to increase about threefold this year, thanks to support from the government.

The Baoding, Hebei province-based manufacturer of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks plans to launch nine models in three years in Thailand. It revealed its strategy with the launch of the GWM brand in the country on Tuesday, February 9.

“Nearly all of [the nine models] will be electric vehicles, creating a line-up that will breathe new life into Thailand’s automobile scene with technology and performance,” Narong Sritalayon, the managing director of GWM Thailand, said last week.

GWM, which sells cars in more than 60 markets worldwide, views Thailand as a potential market and as a base for its expansion into the Asean region. The country, already Southeast Asia’s car production hub, is seeking to position itself as a centre for battery-powered vehicles as countries compete to lure investment by global carmakers. By 2030, Thailand aims to have EVs account for 30 per cent of its car production, as makes efforts to minimise air pollution.

“There were 2,079 EVs [vehicles with seven seats or less] registered in Thailand as of December end, up from 802 in 2019,” Surapong Paisitpatanapong, the vice-chairman and spokesman of FTI’s automotive club, said in an interview on Monday. Surapong added that he expected Thailand to see about 6,000 new EVs on roads this year.

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Tesla exports first China-made cars to Europe with shipment of 7,000 Model 3 electric sedans

He said the growth of EVs in Thailand had been boosted by the free-trade agreement between Asean countries and China. Because of the agreement, all EVs imported from China will be tax-free, compared with those imported from Japan, which can be taxed at about 20 per cent.

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