On Wednesday, February 28, BMW Group Thailand announced that it will build a battery assembly plant in Rayong, Thailand, to support sales of its electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
BMW Thailand already has a vehicle assembly plant in Rayong that produces fuel and hybrid vehicles. The existing plant also produces battery systems for plug-in hybrid vehicles there. It also exports complete vehicles to several countries. This planned plant should be assembly-based, using cells produced by partners to assemble battery packs and integrated battery components and dispense them to BMW electric vehicles. BMW Thailand also said that the company is considering producing electric cars in Rayong. However, the final decision will depend on a number of factors including market demand and supply chain. BMW currently produces electric cars in Germany, Hungary and China, and Thailand is expected to become the fourth country.
According to local Thai media reports, the head of BMW Thailand said that one of the key reasons for BMW's decision to invest in battery manufacturing in Thailand is that Chinese companies are expanding their EV investments and supply chains in the country. These include BMW's European EV partners such as CATL and Eve Energy. The impact of Red Sea tensions has also affected the timing of some auto parts shipments to Asia. BMW's plans for Thailand are driven by the need for a stable supply chain in the future.
Since the end of last year, the Thai government has enacted several bills aimed at boosting the country's EV consumption and investment in related industries in Thailand. SMM believes that as a Southeast Asian country with a strong industrial base and automotive manufacturing industry, Thailand has the basis and willingness to undertake the transfer of electric vehicle industry. At present, a number of Chinese OEMs and electric core factories have already started their production and operation in Thailand. It is expected that more enterprises in the EV industry chain will invest in Thailand in the future, so as to better supply the Southeast Asian market and avoid further restrictive measures on country-specific products that may be introduced by the EU or the US in the future.
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