GAC Group has begun assembling battery packs in Thailand, adding a local component operation to serve its vehicle factory as the automaker expands manufacturing in the country.
The site began production Oct. 29 at Sihaitong Industrial Park in Si Racha district, Chonburi province. GAC said it is the company’s first battery-pack operation abroad funded by GAC and kept under its direct management.
GAC’s wholly owned subsidiary INPOW Battery runs the facility, which covers more than 13,000 square meters. The company put its investment above CNY 50 million and said locally sourced materials and components account for 78.85% of procurement. Initial output will go to GAC’s vehicle factory in Thailand.
Reuters reported that the initial stage is planned to produce 7,000 packs a year, with a later expansion potentially lifting annual output to 20,000. The outlet named locally produced Aion Y Plus vehicles as a planned destination. GAC’s announcement gave neither an annual production target nor a vehicle model. Reuters said GAC expects Thai assembly to get packs to its vehicle operation sooner and make the local supply network more dependable.
GAC entered Thailand in 2023 and started vehicle production at its Rayong factory in 2024. The battery-pack operation extends its local manufacturing base into another part of the supply chain.
Thailand’s Board of Investment says the EV 3.5 support package runs from 2024 through 2027. Under the 30@30 goal, the government aims for zero-emission vehicles to account for at least 30% of national motor-vehicle production in 2030, with targets of 725,000 cars and 675,000 motorcycles. Thailand has also weighed higher EV taxes for imports by companies without local factories, a proposal covered in earlier EconoTimes reporting on Thai EV tax plans.
