Business

China’s Great Wall Motor plans EV battery assembly, research in Thailand

Published

4 months ago

May 30, 2023

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China's Great Wall Motor plans EV battery assembly, research in Thailand

China’s Great Wall Motor Co Ltd is finalising plans to invest up to $30 million to set up a new battery pack assembly plant in Thailand, where it will start making a compact electric car next year, according to a company official.

The Hebei-based company is also considering establishing a research and development centre in Thailand that could work on battery powered pickup trucks, Narong Sritalayon, managing director of Great Wall Motor Thailand said in an interview.

The automaker has 10 similar development hubs globally that focus on other technologies. Investment in Thailand, which aims to become a regional electric vehicle (EV) production centre, would depend in part on government subsidies, Narong added.

Although China’s Great Wall and BYD Co Ltd have made large investments in Thailand, Japanese carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Isuzu Motors Ltd dominate the country’s domestic auto market, with pickup trucks accounting for more than half of sales last year.

“I think there is a lot of things we can learn from Thailand’s unique market for pickup trucks,” Narong said.

Thailand, the world’s tenth-largest auto manufacturing economy, aims to use tax cuts and subsidies to help convert about 30 per cent of the country’s annual production of 2.5 million vehicles into EVs by 2030, according to a government plan.

Great Wall launched its Ora Good Cat compact EV in Thailand in late 2021. It became the country’s top-selling EV last year, with the cheapest variant listed on Great Wall’s website priced at 828,500 Thai baht ($24,475) after a government subsidy of 230,500 baht.

Great Wall entered Thailand in 2020 after taking over a former General Motors Co plant that currently makes two of its Haval hybrid vehicles for sale in the country.

It plans to begin production of the Ora Good Cat in Thailand next year and will look to source more components locally, including battery packs, to meet requirements under the government’s incentive scheme for carmakers, Narong said.

A pack assembly facility could require an investment of between 500 million to 1 billion Thai baht, with the exact size depending on a plan expected to be finalised within the next six months, Narong said.

SVOLT Energy Technology, a Great Wall subsidiary that has been expanding its presence in other markets like Europe, will produce battery assembly packs in Thailand in the initial phase, the company said.

But the facility could be upgraded for battery cell production with additional investment depending on demand and Thai government support, Great Wall added.

“We may become a contract manufacturer of batteries to other (automakers) as well,” Narong said. “That would also scale up the capacity of the battery plant.”

China’s CATL provides a 63.1 kilowatt hour battery pack for the Ora Good Cat 500 Ultra variant imported into Thailand, but Great Wall said it had no current plans to purchase batteries from CATL for its upcoming local production.

Thailand is in talks with CATL – the world’s dominant battery supplier with a 37 per cent market share – and other battery makers to build production facilities in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.

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Nepra approves Rs3.28 per unit increase in power tariff

Published

2 days ago

September 23, 2023

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Nepra approves Rs3.28 per unit increase in power tariff

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved Rs3.28 per unit increase in power tariff on the account of fuel cost adjustment for fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022-23.

The regulatory body has sent his decision to the federal government for final approval. The increase in electricity prices will come into effect immediately after it is approved by the government.

The distribution companies (Discos) would recover Rs159 billion from consumers during the period of six months (October 2023 to March 2024).

The revised rate will be applicable on all customers.

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Business

Inflation goes up as people feel effects of fuel price hikes

Published

2 days ago

September 23, 2023

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Inflation goes up as people feel effects of fuel price hikes

Food and fuel prices continue fuelling inflation in Pakistan as the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended September 21 witnessed a 0.93 per increase amid the complete government failure to check the rates.

Read more: Food prices owing to weaker rupee, supply shortages will push Pakistan inflation: ADB

The latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows that chicken price had jumped by 8.49pc followed by petrol 8.51pc, diesel 5.54pc garlic 5.19pc and onion 3.02pc.

At the same time, the year-on-year increase in SPI stood at 38.66pc when compared with the corresponding week of last year.

Read more: More food inflation as fuel price hikes increase production, transportation costs

The rising inflation in Pakistan urgently needs government intervention and a study of how different governments are dealing with the challenge. Tax on cut on food items is one of methods.

Read more: Fighting the food inflation: From net-zero VAT to supermarkets seeking price cuts

Earlier this week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had warned that average inflation in Pakistan will soar to 29.2 per cent caused by supply shortages, continued currency depreciation, import restrictions, and fiscal stimulus for post-pandemic recovery.

Meanwhile, the rising food prices shouldn’t be a surprise given that the regular fuel price hikes are increasing the production and transportation costs.

The main reason behind the persistent inflation in Pakistan is devaluation as the rupee had dropped to the record against the US dollar – a trend that is being reversed somewhat amid a crackdown on blacking marketers on hoarders.

However, the exchange rate is still too high, requiring further correction, as the people have also been hit hard for power and gas tariffs as the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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Business

Power tariff hikes: The more you devalue rupee, the more capacity charges you pay

Published

6 days ago

September 19, 2023

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Power tariff hikes: The more you devalue rupee, the more capacity charges you pay

Devaluation – a process that started under former finance minister Miftah Ismail in late 2017 and late 2018 but gained momentum under the PTI government – is the root cause of inflation shouldn’t be a contested statement as it has made imports even more expensive for Pakistan.

And that’s countries like Pakistan are the worst affected due the rising commodities prices in global market as weaker currencies mean the overall impact is much deeper for them than the rest.

Read more: Rupee collapse is the reason behind all ills Pakistan is facing

This argument was endorsed by none other a high-ranking government official – Power Division Secretary Rashid Langrial who said on Monday that the capacity [charges] payment had doubled after the dollar exchange rate increased from Rs100 to Rs300, thus resulting in skyrocketing electricity tariffs for consumers.

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