Chinese leading automaker BYD and Thai conglomerate WHA Group’s subsidiary WHA Industrial Development PLC signed on Thursday a land deal enabling BYD to build its first EV plant in Thailand.

As announced by WHA Industrial Development PLC, the land BYD purchased is a 600-rai (96 hectares or 237 acres) plot at WHA Rayong 36 Industrial Estate, Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). 

BYD says it aims to produce 150,000 electric right-hand drive vehicles per year from 2024. Besides selling domestically in Thailand, it also plans to export to other Southeast Asian countries, as well as the European market, Kallanish learns. 

In August 2022, BYD announced its official entry into the passenger car market in Thailand and named Rêver Automotive Company Limited as the exclusive distributor in this ASEAN country. It set the first-year sales target at 10,000 units for the Thai market. 

According to Bloomberg, Thailand’s Board of Investment approved this THB 17.9 billion ($491 million) project last month.

“This is truly a significant advancement in our group’s expansion... The EEC and WHA Rayong 36 Industrial Estate offer exactly what we were looking for: outstanding location, talented human resources, world-class services and facilities, top-quality logistics and infrastructure,” comments Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division. “WHA Group has been playing an instrumental role in the expansion of the automotive cluster in the EEC. These are crucial factors for our investment, and we look forward to a mutually beneficial and long-term relationship with WHA Group.”

Besides industrial real estates, WHA Group is also engaged in logistics, utilities and power, and digital platform.