(Yicai) Oct. 19 -- Chinese carmaker Changan Automobile plans to invest THB8.8 billion (USD241.9 million) to build a new energy vehicle factory in the WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Thailand’s Rayong province.

The factory will produce pure electric vehicles and plug-in and extended-range hybrid vehicles to be sold in Thailand, Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and South Africa, the Chongqing-based company announced yesterday, citing a deal it signed with the Board of Investment of Thailand at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The project will be built in phases, with the first one expected to reach an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles, Changan Auto added.

Changan Auto is accelerating its overseas development. In the first half of the year, it ranked among China’s top three automakers in terms of export volume.

As of June 30, Changan Auto had sold its products in more than 60 countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, including Saudi Arabia and Chile. Last year, 90 percent of its exported cars were sold in BRI countries, with sales exceeding CNY12 billion (USD1.6 billion).

In addition to Changan Auto, also Great Wall Motors, BYD, SAIC Motor, and Horizon Plus, a joint venture between Thai oil giant PTT Group and Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, unveiled plans to invest in and build NEV factories in Thailand.

Editor: Futura Costaglione