When you get on the highway from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, you will see three huge billboards at the first corner, with posters of MG, BYD, and GAC Aion hanging on them respectively.
China's mainstream automakers are gradually using Thailand as a frontier base to carry their grand global footprint.
On July 17, GAC Aion’s factory in Rayong Province, Thailand was completed. This is the second Chinese automaker to open a factory in Thailand in July.
As a second-generation red Aion V rolled off the production line, it marked the official launch of GAC Aion's localized production in Thailand. It is understood that the planned production capacity of the first phase of the factory is 50,000 units per year. The factory adheres to the concept of "small scale, fast output, and rolling development" and supports the co-production of multiple GAC Aion models such as the second-generation AION V and AION Y Plus.
In terms of process flow, the philosophy of GAC Aion's Thailand factory is to eliminate all waste and create ultimate efficiency, cost and quality (QCD). Through new technologies such as big data, AI, IOT, and vision, the factory can achieve 100% data interconnection. Thanks to the full-scale quality monitoring of all parts achieved by machine vision combined with AI technology and the non-destructive process of ultrasonic flaw detection, GAC Aion's Thailand factory has made "zero defects" in products possible.
In addition, through the large-scale use of technologies such as "photovoltaic power generation + smart energy storage, supercharging and battery cascade utilization", Aion's Thailand factory can also effectively reduce production energy consumption and achieve sustainable development. The current global automotive market is in a period of change. Thanks to the all-round advantages of Chinese auto companies in R&D, manufacturing and industrial chain built under the intelligent electrification transformation of the global automotive industry, China's automobile exports continue to accelerate. In the first half of this year, the export volume reached 2.793 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 30.5%. Chinese brands are facing the best opportunity to go overseas.
Although Chinese automakers are facing high tariffs in Europe and the United States, this cannot stop them from continuing to expand rapidly in other important markets. In the first five months of this year, about 154,000 Chinese new energy vehicles were sold in the Russian market, twice the sales volume in the same period of 2023; Brazil sold a total of 159,621 Chinese cars, almost doubling year-on-year; Israel sold 34,601 Chinese-made cars, of which 26,803 were new energy vehicles, accounting for 68% of the local market.
Among the many markets outside Europe and the United States, the region where Chinese brands have the strongest dominance is Southeast Asia. According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese electric vehicles accounted for 47% of the market share in Southeast Asia in 2021, but now this proportion has risen to 74%, a record high.
However, the streets of Thailand are still dominated by Japanese cars, mainly Toyota. If you don’t read the words on the signs, you might even mistakenly think you are in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, where Toyota’s headquarters is located. Compared with Toyota, GAC Aion is still a little thin at the moment, but with the pioneering efforts of these pioneers, in three to five years, this place may become the "headquarters" of more Chinese brands.
However, as mentioned above, facing the uncertain international trade environment and localization adaptation issues, it is impossible to adjust the market strategy in time by simply exporting products. Only systematic export can truly open up overseas markets and enhance the brand's international influence. This is also the part that GAC Aion attaches great importance to when laying out its internationalization strategy.
Gu Huinan, general manager of GAC Aion, said at the "Roundtable Forum on High-Quality Cooperation in the New Energy Vehicle Industry between China and Thailand and the Integration and Development of New Productivity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand" after the event that day: "GAC Aion currently has core technologies such as three-electric, but we will not do everything ourselves and will strengthen external cooperation." For example, the assisted driving function installed in the second-generation Aion V should be the most intelligent driving capability among mass-produced cars on the Thai market. At the same time, GAC also brought solid-state battery technology this time and negotiated with relevant Thai departments on the possibility of promotion and implementation.
Gu Huinan said that GAC Aion is not only produced and manufactured in Thailand, but will also help Thailand build a more complete automotive industry chain and accelerate its development into the electric vehicle industry center in Southeast Asia.
According to a reporter from The Paper, GAC Aion has already started producing batteries and motors in Thailand. “Parts that can be produced in Thailand will be produced there first,” said Gu Huinan.
