New BMW EVs are also slated to be rolling out of its Thai assembly plant by the second half of 2025.
While there is probably still a persisting preconception that the ASEAN market may not be fully ready for EVs just yet, BMW nevertheless looks to be steadfast in its continued all electric push within the region. This much is to be true not just because the German automaker has recently broken ground on a battery manufacturing facility in Thailand, but perhaps more so from the fact that it has plans to build its next-gen BEVs over in the Kingdom too.
BMW has after all recently announced that it is to be preparing a production site in Thailand to build its fully electric vehicles, with local BEV production over there apparently scheduled to start as early as the second half of 2025. The German automaker revealed this much during the ground breaking ceremony of its new battery manufacturing facility in Rayong, where it plans to assemble in-house its latest Gen-5 high-voltage batteries.
More specifically, this forthcoming 4,000 square metre high-voltage battery assembly facility will have the primary function of converting imported battery cells into modules that will then be integrated into high-voltage batteries. The BMW Group has invested more than 1.6 billion baht (RM 210 million) into this endeavour, with a significant share of which – almost 1.4 billion baht (RM 185 million) – to be used in procuring state-of-the-art equipment and systems.
“Local production of high-voltage batteries in Rayong is the next logical step in the continued electrification of our production network. Once again, the principle of ‘local for local’ applies, supporting economic development, employment opportunities and knowledge transfer in Thailand and the ASEAN region,” said Milan Nedeljković, Board Member for Production at BMW AG, at the ground-breaking ceremony.
Rather interestingly, it is worth highlighting that this upcoming battery site will not actually be the first time the BMW Group has been producing high-voltage batteries in Thailand. This is as it already was producing packs for its locally-assembled plug-in hybrids since 2019, in partnership with the DRÄXLMAIER Group.
The Thai province of Rayong where this new battery plant has broken ground is to also be where the BMW Group has been churning out cars in the Kingdom for the past 26 years. According to the German automaker, it currently manufactures around two dozen BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad models for the Thai as well as various ASEAN markets, with annual production output in 2023 totalling more than 12,000 cars and almost 11,000 motorcycles.
