Targeting Battery Manufacturers: Building an Eco-system for the Electric Vehicle Supply Chain

BOI plans to invite investment in China by targeting battery manufacturers: Creating a complete ecology of the electric vehicle industry chain.

The Office of the Board of Investment (BOI) of Thailand will organize a roadshow in Guangdong and Fujian provinces in China from April 7th to 10th, aiming to attract investments from cell-level battery manufacturers. Battery manufacturing is an upstream industry for the electric vehicle industry, with advanced technology and high investment, which is essential for strengthening the electric vehicle industry and clean energy supply chain.

"The goal of this roadshow is apparent: to target world-class battery manufacturers in China and attract them to set up battery production bases in Thailand. Batteries, as important raw materials, are crucial for enhancing the completeness and competitiveness of the electric vehicle industry chain in Thailand. This will make Thailand a complete production center for batteries and electric vehicles, and help develop clean energy industries that need battery storage systems", the Secretary-General of the Thailand National Electric Vehicle Policy Office (ONEP) said.

During this roadshow, BOI will meet with senior executives of large Chinese battery companies, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, CALB Group Co., Ltd., Eve Energy, Guoxuan High-Tech, and Sunwoda, which are among the top ten global electric vehicle battery manufacturers. In addition, meetings will also be held with the major electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors because this company was recently launched at the Thailand Auto Show and will discuss the next phase of investment plans for producing electric vehicles this year.

On February 29, 2024, to enhance the competitiveness of national target industries, the Thailand Policy Committee (Empowerment Fund Board of Directors) and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand jointly approved standards and preferential measures to promote investment.

Application conditions are as follows:

1. It must be a leading battery manufacturer used by electric vehicle manufacturers.

2. It must produce batteries for electric vehicles, but batteries for energy storage systems can also be produced in the same project.

3. The specific energy of the battery cells produced must not be less than 150 Wh/Kg.

4. The life cycle must not be less than 1,000 times.

To attract investors, the Thai government has also introduced several preferential policies, including:

1. Tax exemption: investors can enjoy a maximum of 15 years of corporate income tax exemption, dividend tax exemption, machinery import tax exemption, tax exemption for the import of raw materials used for export production, and other preferential policies.

2. Tariff reduction: The import tariff can be reduced to up to 90% of the normal import tax rate for domestically produced raw materials.

3.R&D support: Imports used for research and development are exempt from import duties.

4. Fund support: The capacity Building Fund will support part of the investment costs, research, and development or personnel development.

Currently, BOI has approved a total of 103 projects related to electric vehicle promotion, with an investment exceeding 77 billion Thai Baht. It includes 40 battery promotion projects, with an investment of approximately 25 billion Thai Baht; 24 of them are projects for batteries for electric vehicles with a total investment of 13 billion Thai Baht. The remaining projects are for the production of high-capacity batteries, covering various industries, a total of 16 projects, with a total investment of 12 billion Thai Baht.