Mercedes-Benz Plans EV Manufacturing In Thailand

According to media reports German automaker Mercedes Benz has agreed with the Thai government to import its battery-powered cars into the country.

The move, reported by Bloomberg and local Thai media outlets, is part of Thailand’s strategic ambition to bolster the country’s standing as a key electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia.

The reports also said that Mercedes, via a memorandum of understanding with the Thai government, has committed to manufacturing EVs in Thailand in its facility in Samut Prakan province.

A Mercedes spokesman didn’t say which models that may include or when production may start. The local Mercedes facility has to date been used to assemble combustion engine cars and it recently started producing batteries for EVs.

As a result of the MoU however, Mercedes will be in line to receive benefits like lower import duties and excise taxes for each fully electric car imported by its Thailand subsidiary through 2023.

At the Thailand International Motor Expo last week, Mercedes displayed a fully electric EQS 500 car, which Roland Folger, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Thailand, said was “the first local production made outside of Germany.

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