Thailand is Negotiating with CATL on Construction of a Battery Factory

According to foreign media reports, a government official in Thailand revealed that the country is negotiating with China's CATL and other battery manufacturers to build battery production facilities in Thailand. Thailand, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, hopes to promote the popularisation and production of EVs by offering incentives such as tax cuts and subsidies. The nation aims to become a regional EV production centre and a key player in the global EV supply chain outside China.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI), said that they were negotiating with many companies, not only CATL but many other companies in the battery industry. "This is one of our goals. That we would like to attract battery cell producers to set up their factory in Thailand.” Narit gave no details or how far the talks had progressed.

CATL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, CATL announced a strategic partnership with ARUN PLUS, a subsidiary of energy giant PTT Pcl, to explore potential cooperation and development opportunities in battery-related businesses in Thailand. ARUN PLUS is part of a joint venture between PTT and Foxconn that is building a factory aimed at producing EVs in Thailand as early as 2024.

Thailand is the world's 10th largest automaker, with production in the country largely dominated by Japanese automakers including Toyota and Isuzu. Thailand plans to convert 30% of its annual production of 2.5 million vehicles year into electric vehicles by 2030.

Over the past few years, Thailand has attracted investment from some electric vehicle companies, including Chinese automakers such as Great Wall Motors and BYD. In addition, Thailand also hopes to attract electric vehicle suppliers, including the local production of key components such as batteries and charging piles. Narit revealed that the government aims to directly support and subsidise large-scale battery production facilities, giving priority to those factories with a production capacity of more than 8 gigawatt hours (GWh), which is enough to power more than 106,000 vehicles equipped with 75-kilowatt-hour batteries.

CATL is the world's major battery supplier, accounting for 37% of the global market share. The company has been expanding rapidly overseas, with contracts with companies including Ford Motor, Honda Motor and BMW. Its batteries also power Volkswagen's I.D. Series and Tesla's vehicles in China.

At present, CATL has 13 battery production centres, 11 of which are in China, one in Hungary and the other in Germany. Its 14GWh plant near Erfurt, Germany, started ramping up production this year. However, CATL does not yet have production facilities in Southeast Asia.