- The Changan Thailand plant has an initial planned capacity of 100,000 units per year and will gradually expand to 200,000 units in the future.
- The first vehicle produced at the plant is a right-hand drive version of the Deepal S05.
Changan Automobile has opened its first overseas electric vehicle (EV) plant in Thailand, becoming the latest Chinese automaker to start production of EVs in the Southeast Asian country.
The plant, located in Rayong, Thailand, went into operation on May 16 and saw its first vehicle roll off the assembly line, Changan announced on Weibo yesterday.
The model is a right-hand drive version of the S05 from Deepal, Changan's new energy vehicle (NEV) unit, and is the 28.59 millionth vehicle produced by Changan.
Rayong is a port and industrial city in eastern Thailand, where other Chinese automakers including BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) and GAC have built factories.
Construction of Changan's Thai plant began in November 2023 with a total investment of about 10 billion baht ($300 million).
It will have an initial annual production capacity of 100,000 units per year, with a gradual expansion to 200,000 units in the future.
Changan plans to set up R&D and after-sales service systems in Thailand, with an overall planned investment of 30 billion baht.
Changan's brands, including Changan, Deepal and Avatr, will be produced at the Thai plant.
Over the next three years, Changan will have 12 NEV models available in Southeast Asian markets, according to the company.
Changan has already launched seven models, including Deepal S07 and Avatr 11, in the Thai market.
Changan entered the Middle East and Africa market in 1994 and gradually built up a sales network covering Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The automaker aims to exceed five million units in global sales by 2030, with a target of 1.5 million overseas sales, the company previously said.
($1 = THB 33.24 $1 = RMB 7.2153)
