According to major foreign media such as Bloomberg News on the 7th local time, the Thai Investment Authority said the previous day that Hyundai Motor had approved a plan to invest 1 billion baht in Thai electric vehicle and battery assembly facilities.
Hyundai Motor, in partnership with local company Tonburi Auto, will assemble and produce electric vehicles from 2026 on a commissioned manufacturing basis in the southeastern state of Bangkok.
Thailand is considered the largest automobile market in Southeast Asia. Once considered a garden for Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi, Chinese companies including BYD now control 80% of Thailand’s electric car market.
In particular, Thailand accounts for more than 50% of all electric vehicle sales in Southeast Asia and is considered a major base for the next-generation mobility roadmap. Kia, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, pushed for the establishment of an electric vehicle production plant of about 250,000 vehicles per year in Rayong Province in eastern Thailand last year, but it is currently on hold.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
