Thailand’s largest energy company, PTT, has signed an agreement with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Hozon Auto to expand and develop the EV market in the country. The partnership is set to include the distribution of Hozon’s vehicles in Thailand as well as exploring the possibility of local production, Reuters reports.
Although no timeline was mentioned, the latter will look at opportunities to utilise PTT and Foxconn’s upcoming EV production facility, a joint venture project that was first announced in June and cemented in September. Hozon, established in 2014, recently unveiled its right-hand drive model of the Neta V at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo, highlighting its ambition to tap into RHD markets.
“The agreement will show Thailand’s EV production capacity and ability to grow the regional market. There could also be new opportunities such as business-to-business deals, like if ride-hailing companies want to use new EVs,” senior energy official Twarath Sutabutr told the news agency.
Located in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the upcoming PTT/Foxconn factory will take two to three years to set up and will have an initial manufacturing target of 50,000 cars a year during its first phase. This will gradually extend to 150,000 cars annually in the future.
Shifting to electrification is part of PTT’s new vision of growing new business and increasing renewable power use, and falls in line with the government’s target of getting 30% of its domestic auto production to be of EVs by 2030. The Thai government holds a 51.1% stake in PTT.
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Inb4 Thailand dah jual to China
Hozon Auto.. The name must have been inspired by the ozone layer.