Thailand's Board of Investment attracts 198 EV investment projects worth over $4bn, with aim of becoming ASEAN's EV production base

The $4 billion invested in 198 projects in Thailand covers a wide range of EV-related projects, including EV and battery production, as well as vehicle charging and battery switching infrastructure. An additional 33,500 million baht ($1 million) has been invested in 57 battery and energy storage systems (BESS), while investment in EV components such as traction motors and EV power control systems totalled 12.5 billion baht ($373 million) across 49 projects.

As shown below, BEV production has attracted the most investment in Thailand, followed by HEVs, then PHEVs – with some investment also allocated to electric bus and motorcycle production.

Several OEMs that have been granted investment promotion from the BOI over the past four years have already begun production of EV models in Thailand, including Mercedes-Benz, Great Wall Motor, SAIC Motor-CP, BYD, Ion Automobile, Changan, EV Primus and – most recently in 2026 – BMW, Hyundai Mobility and Chery Group's Omoda & Jaceoo.

Plans to lead the region in automotive manufacturing

Thailand's BOI has stated that the goals of this investment promotion include the strengthening of the Thai automotive supply chain and laying the foundation for Thailand to become the main production and export base of the ASEAN region.

Read more: Recent growth in Vietnam's manufacturing sector set to continue over the next decade

Vietnam, one of the fastest developing automotive markets in South-East Asia, has a growing manufacturing base of foreign and homegrown OEMs.

"The transition to electric vehicles is a big challenge for the global automotive industry; at the same time, it is an important opportunity for Thailand to become the centre of the region's electric vehicle supply chain and ecosystem," said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of the Thailand BOI.

Of course, Thailand is not the only country pursuing such ambitions. The government of Indonesia is also incentivising EV adoption and production while Vietnam's automotive manufacturing sector is set for continued growth over the next decade.

Narit also identified the creation of employment opportunities for the people of Thailand as a key target of the investment promotion. Currently, more than 16,000 Thai workers are employed by the aforementioned OEMs.

New opportunities for Thai suppliers

In an effort to provide opportunities for domestic parts manufacturers to enter the global supply chain, the Thailand BOI has introduced measures to encourage joint ventures between Thai entrepreneurs and foreign companies. It has organised 18 business-matching events connecting Thai tier suppliers with OEMs from around the world.

Read more: Thai auto groups submit proposal to protect local EV production

Ten automotive groups in Thailand have proposed reforms to the government's EV-related policies ahead of the EV 3.5 incentive scheme coming to an end in 2027.

The BOI has said it expects more than 60 billion baht ($1.8bn) in local parts procurement to come out of these events, which it claims will open the way for Thai suppliers to enter next-generation production lines and grow alongside a new wave of EV investment.

It has also said that, through events such as Subcon Thailand and Sourcing Day, it has worked to promote the use of domestic parts in the supply chains of new entrants to the Thai production base. The use of domestic parts by foreign manufacturers has been raised by several business groups in Thailand as a threat to the country's domestic supply chain.

In May 2026, ten automotive groups in Thailand presented a joint proposal to the Thai government on eight reforms to EV-related policies that they believe will allow the country's domestic automotive industry to prosper in an environment of fair competition once the government's EV 3.0 and EV 3.5 incentive schemes come to an end in 2027.

Alongside calls for stricter local content mandates, the signatories proposed measures such as excise tax reforms, investment-linked import quotas, tax incentives linked to use of Thai-made common parts and stronger rules of origin enforcement.

Covering all bases

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Although Thailand's government is focusing predominantly on clean energy vehicles and intelligent vehicles, it has adjusted its incentives to cover all types of vehicle technology in a move it has said will allow manufacturers to "invest and grow together in Thailand". 

This includes BEVs, HEVs, PHEVs, MHEVs and "other future technologies", so that it is "ready to focus on creating the fully connected automotive supply chain of the future".

According to data from Thailand's Department of Land Transport (DLT), demand for EVs amongst Thai consumers' appetite has grown significantly in the past five years, with EVs representing 44% of new vehicle registrations in 2025 – up from just 3% in 2020.

Within this segment, HEVs accounted for the greatest share of total new vehicle registrations with 21.8%, followed by BEVs at 19.6% and then PHEVs at 2.9%.