New EV plant by Foxconn, PTT to build up to 150,000 vehicles a year
This second feature of a 3-part series on Thailand’s electric-vehicle scene takes a closer look at what this 36-billion baht facility can do once it’s ready by 2024
THAILAND’S push to become an electric vehicle (EV) production hub received a big push in February, with the launch of Horizon Plus, a joint venture between Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Thailand’s state-owned petroleum conglomerate PTT.
Recently, Thailand’s Board of Investment granted tax privileges and benefits to Horizon Plus. This month, the joint venture bought a 50-hectare plot of land in an industrial estate on the Eastern Economic Corridor to build its EV manufacturing plant. The plan is for it to be operational by 2024.
Once the 36 billion baht (S$1.4 billion) facility is up and running, Horizon Plus aims to have an initial production capacity of 50,000 EV cars annually for the first few years, and then to scale this up to 150,000 units by 2030.
Horizon Plus said that it is ”determined to cooperate with all automotive brands who are interested in developing EV prototypes and supporting EV manufacturing in Thailand and in the Asean region”.
Under its business model, the joint venture will provide the car chassis, and the clients will provide their modules to make the car model distinctive.
Kunat Tharasisuthi, senior analyst of EVs at auto industry analyst LMC Automotive, said: “This is a new concept for Thailand’s automotive industry. You can customise the look for an SUV or hatchback. In the past, each (car) brand developed its own platform.”
Krisda Utamote, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, said: “I believe what we will see is a lot of startups (going to Horizon Plus), because they can reduce their costs with the open-platform concept.”
So far, Horizon Plus has attracted interest from at least one potential client — China’s Hozon New Energy Automobile, an EV startup car brand that sold 11,000 units in China in January this year, outpacing market leaders BYD and Tesla. Horizon Plus is in talks with other potential Chinese EV clients, sources said.
Foxconn, known for its track record as an electronics contract manufacturer that produces iPhones for Apple, has an established client base in mainland China, and is expected to attract more EV manufacturers to do business with Horizon Plus.
“We think the Foxconn-PTT deal is a win-win,” said Titikorn Lertsirirungsun, LMC’s manager for South-east Asia. “Foxconn has the technology and know-how and the client base, and PTT has the budget, and is very close to Thailand’s policymakers.”
PTT is the largest corporation in Thailand. It is currently ranked 81st on the Fortune 500 list, with a near monopoly over domestic natural gas distribution. It also owns numerous subsidiaries, including the popular Cafe Amazon chain, and has a network of 2,000 petrol stations across the country.
“We will leverage our existing infrastructure of over 2,000 gas stations and the Fit-Auto service centres for vehicle maintenance,” said a spokesman from PTT. Fit-Auto is a PTT subsidiary that specialises in maintenance for EVs.
“We target to have more than 1,000 charging outlets and hundreds of Fit-Auto service points in the coming years,” the spokesman said. PTT has also developed a mobile phone app that shows motorists the nearest EV charging station — PTT-owned or otherwise.
The current lack of an extensive EV charging network remains one of the chief obstacles to higher EV sales. As of March this year, there were only 994 EV charging stations nationwide, with just under half based in Bangkok and 2 surrounding provinces, Nonthaburi and Pathumthani.
Having an EV ecosystem in place is deemed a key element for the success of Horizon Plus, which is expected to attract mostly Chinese startups that may not have the large budgets needed for after-sales service, which will instead be provided by PTT’s Fit-Auto service.
