A landmark achievement for the electric vehicle (EV) industry unfolded as Gotion High-tech’s Thai joint venture, NV Gotion, celebrated the production of its first local EV battery pack. This event, dated December 7, signals a pivotal advancement for the Volkswagen-backed Chinese powerhouse Gotion in the global market.
The new battery pack, using lithium iron phosphate chemistry, has a capacity of 38 kWh, enabling an electric vehicle to travel up to 400 kilometers. This capacity meets the growing demand in Thailand’s EV market for A-class model batteries. Yu Qiang, NV Gotion’s marketing director, emphasized the battery’s performance and cost efficiency, noting an existing supply agreement with Neta Auto, a rising Chinese car manufacturer. Mass supply is expected to begin in the first quarter of the next year.
Sun Xiyi, CEO of NV Gotion, shared expansion visions, “The first phase of the plant’s battery pack production capacity is planned to be 2 GWh per year, with plans to expand it to 8 GWh in the future based on market demand.”
The Thai market’s interest in new energy vehicles (NEVs) has seen a significant rise, with over 50,000 NEVs registered in the first three quarters of the year, showing a vast potential for market growth.
This year, Gotion also entered a strategic partnership with Hozon New Energy Automobile, owner of the Neta brand. This collaboration includes a nomination to supply batteries for several Neta models. The joint venture, involving Gotion Singapore and Thailand’s Nuovo Plus Company, a subsidiary of the PTT Group, marks an important step in Gotion’s global strategy. The venture, with an initial registered capital of $8.5 million (300 million baht), sees Gotion Singapore and Nuovo holding 49% and 51% stakes, respectively.
Following this development, Neta announced that its production plant in Thailand had started operations, aiming to become the primary manufacturing base for Neta’s right-hand drive EVs. With plans to start mass production in the first quarter of 2024, the plant is expected to produce 20,000 units annually, catering to mobility needs in Thailand and the broader market.
Gotion, ranked as one of the largest global power battery makers with a 2.4 percent market share, continues to strengthen its position in the EV industry. This latest achievement not only consolidates its market standing but also underscores the increasing significance of Asia in the global EV and renewable energy sectors.
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