PTT-Foxconn joint venture to deliver first EVs from Chonburi plant in 2024
Horizon Plus, a joint venture between PTT and Foxconn, will deliver the first batch of electric vehicles from its Chonburi plant in 2024, according to its chairman.
Buranin Rattanasombat said Horizon Plus is investing around 37 billion baht (US$1 billion) in its EV plant at Rojana Nongyai Industrial Park, where he broke ground for the project on Saturday.
Initial production capacity of 50,000 EVs per year will triple to 150,000 EVs by 2030 to support growing demand in Asea, said Buranin, who doubles as PTT’s chief new business and infrastructure officer. The project will create jobs for 2,000 high-skilled workers, he added.
Buranin said Horizon Plus will operate under a BOL (Build-Operate-Localise) policy to boost long-term competitiveness of the Thai EV industry and supply chain.
Thosaporn Sirisumphand, chairman of PTT and its EV arm Arun Plus, said Saturday’s stone-laying ceremony was an important step in the Foxconn-PTT partnership towards electrification of the regional auto industry.
“As the world moves toward low-carbon society, transition to the greener transportation alternatives such as EV will play a significant role in shaping future energy sustainability,” Thosaporn said. “This aligns with PTT's commitment to create national energy security for the country.”
Auttapol Rerkpiboon, president and CEO of PTT, said: “The collaboration focuses not only on investment in EV production but also on research and development in Thailand.”
Kay Chiu, CEO of Horizon Plus, said full automation would boost production capacity and reduce costs, while clean energy will power operations to be Asean’s most modern and efficient manufacturer. Foxconn’s experience would ensure Horizon Plus’s success and help Thailand become Asean’s EV manufacturing hub, he said.
The plant will occupy a 500,000-square-metre plot in the heart of the Eastern Economic Corridor as part of Thailand’s vision to become the region’s EV manufacturing base.
Other big EV manufacturers setting up plants and battery factories include China’s BYD, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MG, Great Wall Motors, and Volt. Meanwhile, Thailand's Energy Absolute (EA) has launched the region’s largest lithium battery factory in Chachoengsao.
Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Thailand rose 223 per cent in the first nine months of 2022 from the same period last year, according to the Energy Ministry.
