Thailand: Riddara (Radar Auto) considers a local production facility

Riddara (Radar Auto), the Geely Holding Group’s electrified pickup truck brand, is evaluating a production facility in Thailand. The move could help the Chinese automaker make its products more competitive in the world’s second-largest pickup truck market.

Riddara radar auto rd6 production zibo smart factory shandong china — Image: Radar Auto

According to a new report from the Bangkok Post, Riddara is exploring a local EV factory in Thailand to capitalise on the country’s booming EV market. Although the pickup truck segment is seeing a slowdown, the company sees strong potential for electrified models.

“This country is an opportunity market for the pickup segment. Even though sales have slowed, in the long term, we are confident that electric pickups will continue to grow because they save more energy compared with those running on fossil fuels,” said Cao Feng, the General Manager of Riddara’s Thai subsidiary.

EV sales in Thailand increased by 80 per cent in 2025, reaching 120,301 units. However, Riddara is far from becoming a high-volume player in the country, having sold just 1,000 electric pickup trucks last year. The company is targeting 3,000-5,000 units this year and plans to launch new models, including one with a single-cab layout, to achieve this goal.

In addition to introducing new products, Riddara is working on widening its reach. It currently operates 17 combined showrooms and service centres and two dedicated service centres in Thailand, and it plans to expand its network to 38 outlets this year.

Riddara entered Thailand with the RD6 in October 2024, and in November 2025, it introduced the Econ, a commercial variant of the RD6, also called RD6 Econ in other overseas markets and King Kong in China. The company offers both RD6 and Econ only as BEVs, with the former delivering an NEDC range of 455 kilometres and the latter up to 461 kilometres. It manufactures them at a factory in Zibo, Shandong Province, in China.

The potential overseas production facility may cater not only to Thailand but also to other markets in Southeast Asia. Riddara has started marketing activities in Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines and is evaluating launch plans for Malaysia. The company is present in the Middle East and Latin America as well.

bangkokpost.com, radar-ev.com (in Thai)