Gotion High-Tech to build battery factory in Thailand
Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Gotion High-Tech is planning to build a battery pack production facility in Thailand. The new plant is scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The plant is being built as part of a joint venture between Gotion subsidiary Gotion Singapore, and Nuovo Plus, a subsidiary of the Thai energy company PTT Group. In addition to localizing battery production in Thailand, the joint venture will also create a base for battery exports to other countries.
Gotion is somewhat late to the party, as other manufacturers have been steadily setting up shop in Thailand, with Aiways most recently announcing plans for a car and battery assembly facility in Thailand, as well as a major cooperation with the local company Phoenix EV. Another Chinese manufacturer is already planning to launch production in 2024 with BYD. German testing and certification service provider TÜV SÜD has even opened a battery testing centre in Thailand.
PTT also has set up a cooperation with Foxconn to set up a new factory, which was announced in late 2021. This is likely not the end for new production in Thailand, as the nation plans to halt the sale of internal combustion vehicles from 2035. As an interim target, the government wants to convert half the countries’ vehicle production to BEV. In March of this year, Thailand had also announced a series of new EV incentives to help motivate local consumers.
A major reason for the multitude of manufacturers who have chosen to do business in Thailand is the geographic location, as well as existing supply lines: Thailand is already an automotive production hub, and the country aims to capitalise on its transition to becoming an electric vehicle production hub. This is bolstered by a steady nickel supply for battery components from neighbouring Indonesia. As it currently stands, Thailand already exports 64% of its manufactured vehicles abroad, making them a rather major automobile production location in South East Asia.
Gotion High-Tech has not been slacking in building up their production capacities, however, as just last month, Gotion announced plans for a battery factory in Vietnam in cooperation with VinFast. Construction is also underway on two new battery factories in China, while the company is also looking at manufacturing batteries in the USA in order to benefit from the subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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