Korea's Kia, Thailand in talks over building new EV facility, sources say
Reuters
Published Mar 05, 2024 04:01
BANGKOK (Reuters) - South Korean car maker Kia Corp is in talks with Thailand to build an electric vehicle facility in the Southeast Asian country, two government sources said on Tuesday, as the latter bids to be a top EV maker in the region.
Discussions are ongoing and focused on incentives sought by the carmaker from the Thai government, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
"They have a serious proposal that they've come with," one of the sources said, referring to Kia. "The ball is in their court."
Kia and Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.
BOI had said in January that Kia was considering an investment in Thailand after media reports said the Korean firm had decided against it.
Southeast Asia's largest car producer and exporter, Thailand has rolled out incentives, tax breaks and other measures to position itself as a regional frontrunner for EV production.
Thailand is separately also in talks with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) over a new facility that could include EV and battery production, an official said on Monday.
The country aims to convert about 30% of its annual production of 2.5 million vehicles into EVs by 2030, according to a government plan.
The Thai vehicle market, long monopolized by Japanese carmakers like Toyota Motors and Honda Motor Co, has drawn over $1.44 billion in investment commitments from Chinese EV makers to build production facilities.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.