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Thailand’s move to drive electrification forward has seen a number of incentives being announced, ranging from tax breaks to subsidies aimed at promoting local production and the take-up of electric vehicles (EVs). These financial incentives are spurring a number of companies to invest in domestic manufacturing.
The latest to announce plans for local assembly is EV Primus, the importer and distributor of Dongfeng Sokon Automobile (DFSK) vehicles in the Kingdom. The company, which recently introduced the Volt City EV, plans to start manufacturing EVs in Thailand from September next year, The Nation reports.
According to its MD, Pitaya Tanadamrongsak, EV Primus is investing 400 million baht (RM50.4 million) to set up an EV factory in Gateway City Industrial Estate in Chachoengsao. He added that the company is also seeking investment support from the country’s board of investment (BoI).
While models slated for local assembly were not revealed, it is expected that manufacturing plans will include the Dongfeng Seres 5 and Seres 3 electric SUVS, both of which are set to be introduced in Thailand this year.
The Seres 5 is available with two electric powertrains, the first being a single rear-axle motor rated at 347 PS and 520 Nm of torque, drawing power from an 88 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The second is a dual-motor version that adds another unit of the same motor to the front axle for all-wheel-drive.
Aside from Type 2 AC charging at 11 kW, the car supports DC charging at up to 100 kW, which allow a 0-80% SoC (state-of-charge) to be attained within 30 minutes. A full charge offers the SUV 500 km of range under the NEDC protocol, or 430 km on WLTP.
As for the Seres 3 (known as the Glory E3 in China), it’s equipped with a single 120 kW (163 PS, 300 Nm) electric motor that powers the front wheels through a single-speed transmission. Its 52.56 kWh battery offers up to 405 km of range on a single charge, and takes about eight hours to be recharged via a domestic household socket and 30 minutes from 20% to 80% SoC via a DC fast charger.
Separately, Pitaya said 1,000 Volt City EVs had been booked by August 5, a day after small all-electric hatch was officially introduced. He said the company hopes to have the orders for the car, which is imported from China without import tariffs under the Asean-China free-trade pact, filled as soon as possible, beginning from the end of September
Two different body-style configurations (two- and four-door) are available for the Volt City EV, and both get two trim specifications, namely Classic and Premium. Prices start from 325,000 baht (RM40,212) for the two-door Classic and 355,000 baht (RM43,924) for the two-door Premium.
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