Thailand, known as the "Detroit of Asia", is still a new continent waiting for major car companies to explore in the field of new energy vehicles, and is becoming a sea destination that Chinese car companies are vying to occupy.
On December 8, ** reported that with the end of the 40th Thailand International Automobile Expo, Chinese electric vehicles continued to lead in sales among more than 30 car brands participating in the exhibition. Driven by Chinese brands, the orders for electric vehicles in the exhibition surpassed those of fuel vehicles for the first time.
According to the data provided by the organizers of the auto show, from November 29 to December 5, BYD ranked second with 2,627 orders. SAIC MG, Great Wall and other brands that deployed in the Thai market earlier maintained their sales advantages, coupled with GAC Aion, Changan and Nezha Automobile, which entered the Thai market in the past two years, the six major brands formed a Chinese brand matrix in the top 10 sales list of this auto show.
According to data from Autolife, a well-known car in Thailand, the sales of pure electric vehicles in the Thai market exceeded 5 in the first ten months of this year80,000 units, an increase of about 497% over the same period last yearAmong them, Chinese brands account for more than 80%. Thailand sold 7,727 BEVs in October this year, and 8 of the top 10 sales were occupied by Chinese brands, even Tesla's Model Y only ranked 7th on the list.
KResearch Research Center, a Thai think tank, predicts that the sales of pure electric vehicles in the Thai market are expected to reach 6.5% in 202380,000 vehiclesThe share of BEVs in Thailand's automotive market will increase from 1% in 2022 to 8%.6%, which is expected to increase to 10% to 12% in 2024.
In the face of the offensive of Chinese car companies in Thailand,Japanese automakers, which have an absolute advantage in Thailand, have also had to respond with "price cuts".。Honda and Nissan Motor have carried out a significant ** activity in the Thai market, introducing preferential policies with a 0% interest rate or a cash discount of 2-30,000 yuan. Although Japanese cars dominate the gasoline vehicle market, in the field of new energy, China's electric vehicle market share far exceeds that of Japanese companies.
Hajime Yamamoto, head of the Thai consulting department of Nomura** Research Institute, believes that in the next 10 years,Chinese brands could take at least 15% of Thailand's market share away from Japan by launching affordable electric vehicles.
It seems that for the blue ocean of Thailand, Chinese car companies are "determined to win".
First of all, from the perspective of Thailand's local automobile industry environment, Thailand has always been known as "Asian Detroit", since the 60s of the last century, Thailand has attracted many multinational car companies to lay out production lines through a series of industrial policy adjustments, forming a more complete automobile chain, and gradually becoming one of the automobile manufacturing centers in Southeast Asia, but also allowing Thailand to have sufficient production technology and labor base in the automobile industry.
According to the ASEAN Automobile Federation, in 2022, a total of 188 vehicles were produced in Thailand350,000 units, of which 84 were sold domestically940,000 units, making it the second largest automobile market in ASEANVehicle exports 100260,000 units, before the rise of China's automobile exports, Thailand's automobile exports ranked third in Asia all year round, second only to Japan and South Korea.
However, the market penetration rate of pure electric vehicles can be said to be minimal, and the production capacity is also in the early demand stage, so this is very attractive to new energy vehicle companies in China.
On the other hand, there is a leading analysis that Thailand's auto industry has a very strong export radiation effect, and Thailand as a fulcrum can allow the export territory of new energy vehicle companies to radiate to the entire Southeast Asian region and even a wider market
Data from 2022 shows that Thailand is not only a producer and consumer of automobiles, but also the largest exporter of automobiles in ASEAN, accounting for more than 50% of the country's total automobile production.At the same time, Thailand**'s support for new energy vehicle policies is also one of the key and important factors to attract Chinese car companies. Thailand** wants to make Thailand the largest electric vehicle manufacturing base in ASEAN, launching the 30@30 policyThe aim is to achieve the goal of electric vehicles accounting for 30% of the country's total automobile production by 2030. Under this goal, Thailand** has introduced a series of relevant preferential policies
First of all, eligible electric vehicles can enjoy a subsidy of 70,000 to 150,000 baht per vehicle (about 1.).4-30,000 RMB).Of course, these incentives are not without preconditions, and in order for automakers to enjoy these incentives, they must build a pure electric vehicle plant in Thailand and produce the same number of pure electric vehicles in Thailand by the end of 2025 as they import.This is followed by tax incentives, including reductions in consumption tax, road tax and import duties. For example, new energy vehicles can enjoy a preferential tax rate of 2%., while the excise tax rate for conventional cars is 8%;New energy vehicles imported into Thailand between 2022 and 2023 can enjoy up to 6% off import tax.
Invest at least 5 billion baht (about 10.).$400 million) companies that produce electric vehicles can be exempt from paying 20% corporate tax for 3 to 8 years. Manufacturers of pure electric vehicles are exempt from corporate income tax for up to eight years, and plug-in hybrid vehicles are exempt from corporate income tax for three years. By the end of 2025, import taxes on key components such as batteries and motors will be waived and a commitment will be made to subsidize the cost of electricity for automakers.
This is one of the reasons why car companies have chosen to invest and build factories in Thailand.
Japanese car brands have always been firmly in control of the Thai car market, with a market share of more than 80 percent all year round. Toyota alone occupies more than one-third of Thailand's market share, and is known as Thailand's "national car", so much so that Japanese cars almost regard the Thai market as a "back garden" for the extension of the local marketToyota's chairman, Akio Toyoda, once called Thailand his second home.
Therefore, if they want to hit the Thai market dominated by Japanese car companies, Chinese new energy car companies will face many challenges. **The analysis points out that behind the Japanese car companies, there is also maturityNippon trading companies are not only providing global logistics, distribution channels, intelligence and other services, but also maintaining and coordinating local political and business relations**Analysis said:
The Japanese auto industry in Thailand has spread intertwined political and business relations, affecting the formulation of local auto industry rules, the direction of policies, and even the instigation of the local auto industry.However, today, as the global auto industry accelerates the transformation of electrification, Chinese brands are expanding their territory in the "back garden" of Japanese companies, and Japanese car companies have to launch fierce "offensive and defensive".
In March of this year, BYD became important in ThailandRayong Province, a base for automobile production and exportThe foundation stone for the production plant is expected to start production in 2024, and the production base is not far from the industrial zone where the Japanese automobile plant is located.
In April, Changan Automobile announced that it will invest 2$8.5 billion to build a factory in Thailand to produce its first right-hand drive car outside of China. In the same month, SAIC Motor also announced the construction of a new energy vehicle industrial complex in Thailand. In May, a spokesperson for Thailand** said in a statement that Hezhong had signed an agreement with a Thai car assembly company to start local production of the Nezha V model next year.
In the face of the impact of China's new energy vehicles, Japanese automakers have recently formulated preferential price reduction policies in Thailand to ensure market share. According to the report, Nissan and other Japanese car companies have slashed prices in Thailand, and even Honda, which has rarely carried out **, has also joined in, Honda Thailand CEO Hideo Kawasaka said that under the fierce competition for electric vehicle sales in China, ** activities are essential.
On the one hand, Chinese car companies are menacing to seize the Thai market, and on the other hand, Japanese car companies are actively seeking changes to keep their share, and the offensive and defensive war between Chinese and Japanese car companies has begun.
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