GAC Aion begins construction of EV plant in Thailand

Chinese electric automaker GAC Aion has recently begun the construction of its first overseas EV production facility in Thailand. Located in Rayong province in the country's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the company broke ground late last month at an estimated project cost of  THB 2.3 billion ($65 million). 

The facility is envisaged to be built in two phases, with the first phase of construction expected to be done by July 2024. On the whole, the company has targeted an annual production capacity of 50,000 units for the Thai plant. 

As per news report, the automaker is planning to roll out right-hand drive iterations of its Aion Y Plus electric car in the new facility, to start with. More models are likely to be added, depending on the product strategy for the Thai market and export strategy for the nearby countries. 

The Guangzhou-based company is targeting a sales figure of 1 million units by 2025. Apart from mainland China, GAC Aion is selling its cars in South East Asian markets such as Cambodia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. The brand is said to be actively looking for alike markets to venture in the coming years. 

As per CnEVPost's compiled data, GAC Aion has sold 480,003 vehicles in 2023, registering a year-on-year growth of 77.02 percent. The automaker is also making premium electric cars under 'Hyper' sub-brand.