Foxconn and PTT form EV company for Thailand

Foxconn, the Taiwan-based assembler of iPhones, plans to form a joint-venture company with PTT, Thailand’s state energy firm, to facilitate their plan to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in the Kingdom.

The new joint venture will be established to develop an electric vehicle production facility worth between $1 billion and $2 billion. The manufacturing plant will be located in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand’s advanced development zone and home to next-generation industries.

“This initiative will not only help increase the business potential on the world stage, but it will also respond to the government’s policy to promote EV production, which is set to be a fast-growing industry,” said Auttapol Rerkpiboon, CEO and President of PTT.

The new company does not yet have a name, but Auttapol said he expects it will be formally registered in the fourth quarter of this year. Foxconn will make the investment through its wholly owned subsidiary Lin Yin International Investments.

The PTT CEO said his company would own 60 percent of the new firm, while Lin Yin would hold 40 percent.

Foxconn’s state-of-the-art technology for EV development, branded under Foxconn’s Mobility-In-Harmony concept, will be employed at the new facility.
Executives said that the Taiwan firm’s hardware and software technology would significantly reduce time used in the EV design stage and drive down the cost of EV manufacturing. Those factors would eventually increase competitiveness in the EV market.

Electric vehicles and components are a priority industry under Thailand 4.0, the Kingdom’s 20-year strategy to achieve higher technology, green and sustainable development.

Thailand is the largest traditional vehicle manufacturer in the region and the government is keen to maintain that status as the industry switches to electric vehicles.

Photo courtesy of https://www.pttplc.com/