GAC Aion opens its first overseas plant in Thailand

GAC Aion’s Thai factory is an assembly plant with an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles. While the company intends to build just 20,000 units initially, it has already devised an expansion plan to ramp up the annual output to 70,000 units in the future. The Chinese automaker aims to make Thailand its global export hub for right-hand drive markets.

The manufacturer opened its Thai plant in Amata City Rayong, an industrial estate in the Pluak Daeng District (Rayong Province), about 150 km southeast of the national capital Bangkok. The company built its first overseas production facility on an area of 85,000 square metres, with an investment of approximately ฿2.3 billion (€58.5 million).

In addition to the planned yearly production volume, the localisation level has room for growth. Currently, GAC Aion sources only 45 per cent of the vehicle components from local suppliers. As that number suggests, the company just assembles the vehicles from imported knocked-down kits at the Thai plant.

The carmaker initially said the first model to roll off the production line would be a right-hand drive version of the Aion Y Plus. The EV is already on sale in Thailand as an import vehicle from China, with prices starting from 1,069,900 baht, the equivalent of around 27,900 euros. However, it ended up being an Aion V.

The car is already available in China and has a CLTC range of up to 750 km. According to CarNewsChina, the company plans to offer the new EV in its home market in 150 kW and 165 kW single-motor variants. The compact SUV is 4,605 mm long, 1,854 mm/1,876 mm wide, 1,660 mm/1,686 mm tall, and has a 2,775 mm wheelbase. It offers 427 litres of boot space, expandable to 987 litres. It should launch in China this month and later this year in Thailand.

Thailand has recently developed into an eMobility hub in Southeast Asia, primarily as an expansion base for Chinese manufacturers. Neta is building a plant there, as is Changan, and the MG4 has also been in production in Thailand since November. There are also a number of battery projects, for example from Eve Energy, SVOLT and Gotion High-Tech. Also, just earlier this month, BYD opened its first plant in the region in Thailand.

gac.com.cn, nationthailand.com, autospinn.com (factory), carnewschina.com (Aion V)