SAIC Motor-CP, the producer and distributor of MG automobiles in Thailand, is planning to export autos to ASEAN international locations, together with Vietnam, Indonesia in addition to Malaysia, in accordance to a report by Manager Daily.
Zhang Haibo, president of SAIC Motor-CP and MG Sales (Thailand), informed the publication that gross sales of MG automobiles will start in Malaysia this 12 months, though it wasn’t acknowledged which firm will likely be representing the model right here, nor was there any point out of the preliminary mannequin(s) coming our approach.
In the previous, the MG ZS EV was tipped to come our approach, initially scheduled to be marketed and sold here by MG Berjaya. While that deal was stated to have fallen by some time again, we have been just lately informed that one other social gathering is in the midst of negotiating a deal to deliver the electrical B-segment SUV in, and primarily based on Zhang’s assertion, we’ll discover out extra about this in due time.
The all-electric B-segment SUV has been offered in Thailand since 2019 and is considered one of a number of MG fashions on sale in the nation, with others being a non-EV variant of the MG ZS, the MG 5, MG 3, MG HS (together with its PHEV variant), MG EP Plus and the MG Extender pick-up vans. It is actually a main debut mannequin for the return of the MG brand in Malaysia, particularly in gentle of our authorities’s choice to exempt electric vehicles (EVs) from import and excise duties this year.
This 12 months, SAIC Motor-CP plans to launch three fashions in Thailand, together with the facelifted MG ZS EV (seemingly for us) and MG HS, together with the MG One that’s positioned between the B- and C-segment fashions. Which fashions will likely be made obtainable to us stays to be seen, though moreover the ZS EV, the HS has been spotted on our roads earlier than.
The Chinese automaker has invested closely in Thailand over the previous a number of years, hinting at exports throughout that point as effectively. In a current announcement this week, the corporate will sink in 2.5 billion baht (round RM316 million) to set up a battery plant to help the home manufacturing of EVs in 2023.
“We already have a battery production facility for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Chon Buri, but we want to expand production capacity to produce BEV batteries to support exports,” stated Zhang was reported as saying by the Bangkok Post.
