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By Chayut Setboonsarng and Devjyot Ghoshal
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Buoyed by sales of electric vehicles, Chinese automakers will take center stage at the Bangkok International Motor Show this week, underscoring the developing challenge facing Japanese auto giants that have long dominated Thailand’s auto market.
Chinese automakers such as Zeekr and Geely’s Xpeng Motors are expected to unveil their newest cars to Thai consumers in their debut at the Bangkok Motor Show, a week-long exhibition that opens to the public on Wednesday.
In a preview for the media on Monday, newcomers to the EV sector showcased their cars and their generation at fashion booths, alongside those of market leaders such as Toyota Motor, which are household names in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
Hangzhou-based Zeekr will launch two electric vehicle models in Thailand in June and open 10 showrooms in the country this year, as part of a wider expansion in Southeast Asia, Vice President and Head of Emerging Markets Mars Chen said.
“In the premium segment there is a lot of room for a new player like us,” he said.
Zeekr will compete with Chinese corporations such as BYD and Great Wall Motor, which lately own the largest percentage of Thailand’s EV market.
Guangzhou-based Xpeng, which displays a flying drone at its booth, plans to open five showrooms in Thailand this year to offer high-end electric vehicles, said Elsa Zhang, senior director of its operations.
Others, such as Changan Automobile, a state-owned automaker that will start producing electric vehicles at a Thai plant in early 2025, are targeting the lower end of the market, with a two-door electric vehicle costing around 500,000 baht ($13,728). which he filed on Monday.
HOT COMPETITION
In total, Chinese automakers have pledged to invest more than $1. 44 billion in production facilities at Southeast Asia’s largest auto production hub. Thailand plans to convert about 30% of its annual vehicle production into cars by 2030.
The expansion of Chinese EV makers in Thailand comes amid an increasingly intense festival in the country, where automakers must cut prices.
In 2023, Thais bought 73,500 battery electric vehicles, or about 9% of domestic car sales, and that number is expected to double by the end of 2024, according to forecasts by the Federation of Thai Industries.
Local EV production capacity is expected to reach 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2024 with the start-up of new facilities, basically those of Chinese automakers, said FTI auto industry spokesman Surapong Paisitpattanapong.
Last year, Thailand produced 164 battery-powered vehicles.
“Sales of electric cars are increasing while sales of ICE cars are decreasing,” Surapong said, referring to internal combustion engine cars and attributing the upgrade to less expensive electric models.
“With this ICE car price, you can get EV styling from multiple brands. Higher fuel costs are also helping EVs. “
But market leaders such as Toyota, Isuzu Motors and Honda Motor Co are also recovering.
Japan’s major automakers are expected to invest 150 billion baht ($4. 34 billion) in Thailand over the years.
Isuzu plans to use Thailand as a production base for an electric edition of its D-MAX pickup truck, aiming for export by 2025, a Thai government spokesperson said last week.
($1 = 36. 4200 baht)
(Additional reporting via Orathai Orathai Sriring; editing by Himani Sarkar, Martin Petty)