China’s Sunwoda Electronic has got the okay to move forward with plans to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Thailand after the country’s Board of Investment approved a $1billion+ plan.
Plans include a battery-making facility in Chonburi province that will supply cells for Electric Vehicle (EV) applications. Sunwoda has already started building work at the site.
Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Thailand’s Board of Investment’s secretary-general, is reported as saying the investment would strengthen the country’s supply chain and support the production of EVs for both the country’s domestic market and exports.
According to the Thai Board of Investment, the manufacturing plant will be the first such facility in Thailand’s ASEAN region.
In March 2024, the German car maker BMW announced it would develop a plant in Rayong, Thailand, for making fifth-generation high voltage batteries.
BMW’s battery assembly facility will have a footprint of 4,000 square metres and make modules using imported cells. Read more here
