Proton, the Malaysian national carmaker, has announced plans to set-up and EV factory in Thailand
according to a release by Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
The announcement came during a joint news conference with the Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar
Ibrahim during a visit to Kuala Lumpur by the Thai Prime Minister.
Apparently, the plans are to act quickly to set up the factory in the very near future. There was no mention in the announcement about the size of the investment or where it would be located.
Proton was established by Mahathir Mohammed back in 1983 in a bid for the nation to have an
indigenous automotive industry. To begin with, Proton assembled Mitsubishis but over the
years became a designer and builder of their very own offerings.
The company is now owned by Zheijing Geely holdings, an independent Chinese automaker. In an
attempt to not be left behind as the world plunge head first into the madness of the Electronic Car
era, they are now starting to get serious about EV’s.
Like in other countries, the Thai government is worried that the country may get left behind and are
thus offering cash incentives to companies for moving their EV plants to the nation, once again the
local tax payer is footing the bill for the electrification process.
Currently, the Thai Government is giving a USD4,126 cash subsidy to the purchaser of every EV produced in Thailand and the subsidy was so effective that they’ve extended the program to include cars produced from 2024 to 2027 with a lowered subsidy of 50,000 baht to 100,000 baht
Like so many fledgling national EV manufacturing programs, the Thai market is very dependent on
Chinese manufacturers, so the government is hoping to draw in automakers from other
countries to boost the industry’s momentum.
I guess they are forgetting that Proton is in effect, Chinese owned.
To date, China’s BYD is the number one company in the EV market in the Kingdom with about 30% of
all sales. Hot on their heels though are Chinese rivals GWM and SAIC who are both frantically
building manufacturing plants and thus avoid losing market share to BYD.
If you’re wondering what happens when one country over-produces EVs, read our article on EV graves in China here.
