BYD to build electrified cars in Thailand

BYD Co., China’s largest electrified-vehicle manufacturer, plans to open its first overseas passenger vehicle assembly plant in Thailand in 2024 to expend its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

The factory will be built in Thailand’s Rayong province, according to a land purchase contract BYD signed last week with WHA Corporation Public Company, a major industrial real estate developer in the country.

BYD said it expects to start output of right-hand drive vehicles at the plant in 2024 with annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. 

Vehicles assembled at the factory will be marketed in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia, it added. 

BYD will become the third Chinese automaker to produce vehicles in Thailand, following SAIC Motor Corp. and Great Wall Motor Co.

BYD phased out production of gasoline vehicles in March to focus on manufacturing electrified vehicles. 

In the first eight months, the company sold 978,795 full electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids globally, a jump of 267 percent from the same period last year.