- Sunwoda’s first factory in Thailand, located in Chonburi Province, will produce lithium-ion battery cells for EV makers.
- Several Chinese battery makers have already localized their production in Thailand, but all of them have built packs based on battery cells.
Sunwoda has been approved to invest in battery cell plants in Thailand, becoming the latest Chinese battery maker to deploy battery capacity in the Southeast Asian country.
Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) said today that it has approved an investment of more than $1 billion by a unit of Shenzhen-based Sunwoda Electronic to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems.
The move will strengthen Thailand’s supply chain and support EV manufacturing for both domestic and export markets, BOI said in a statement shared with CnEVPost.
Sunwoda Automotive Energy Technology (Thailand) Co Ltd plans to build manufacturing facilities in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor area.
The first factory, located in Chonburi Province, will produce lithium-ion battery cells for EV manufacturers.
The battery cell manufacturing facilities will be Sunwoda’s first EV-related battery cell plant in the ASEAN region, the BOI said.
Construction of Sunwoda’s first plant in Thailand is progressing smoothly, and the facility is expected to employ more than 1,000 people once production begins, according to the statement.
The entire project, which will include manufacturing, research and product development, will employ more people, including a large number of Thai engineers and researchers, the statement said.
“Today marks a milestone in the development of Thailand’s EV supply chain, as having EV battery cells produced locally will significantly reinforce our status as a manufacturing hub for EVs and hybrids, and increase the country’s competitiveness,” said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary General of the BOI.
Sunwoda is one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers. In 2024, the company had 18.8 GWh of installed EV batteries, placing it 10th in the world with a 2.1 percent share, according to South Korean market researcher SNE Research.
In China, Sunwoda’s installed EV battery volume last month was 0.57 GWh, ranking No. 9 with a 1.63 percent share, according to China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).
Before Sunwoda, several Chinese battery makers have localized production in Thailand, but all of them are making pack products based on battery cells, instead of producing battery cells locally.
On December 7, 2023, Gotion High-tech’s joint venture in Thailand saw its first locally produced battery pack roll off the production line.
On December 20, 2023, Svolt Energy saw its first battery pack come off the production line at its plant in Thailand.
Additionally, CATL (SHE: 300750) announced in June 2023 that it had entered into a CTP (cell to pack) cooperation agreement with Thailand’s Arun Plus, and would provide the company with CTP battery pack production lines and share CTP battery pack production technology.
Eve Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on July 27, 2023 with Energy Absolute Public Company Limited, a Thai company, to build a joint venture to construct a battery production base in Thailand.
Global EV battery market share in Jan 2025: CATL 38.9%, BYD 16.9%
