Thailand has been helping lead the electric vehicle (EV) push, with the second-biggest economy in Southeast Asia looking to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. ♻️
The country is known as the “Detroit of Asia,” serving as a major manufacturing hub. As part of that, it’s looking to make 30% of its car output electric by 2030 so that it doesn’t lose its leadership position in the EV transition. Its government is putting up major funds to help fund that, approving $970 million in tax cuts and subsidies to help encourage demand and boost local production. ⚡
Now, it’s also getting a major push from other country’s automakers, with Japan investing $4.3 billion in Thailand over the next five years. It’s reported that Toyota Motor and Honda Motor will invest 50 billion baht each, followed by Isuzu Motors’ 30 billion, and Mitsubishi Motors’ 20 billion. 💰
While Japanese automakers have head a leading presence in Thailand, recent investments from Chinese EV makers have threatened the country’s dominance. As a result, these investments are likely being made to ward off competition and keep up with the global electric vehicle transition.
And while only loosely related, we need to mention that Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio rose 11% after announcing a flagship sedan at its annual customer event over the weekend. 🤩
As always, investors have high hopes for the industry in 2024. We’ll have to see if it can shake off the troubles of 2023 and have another strong year in 2024. 👀