November 12th, 2022, Thailand, HORIZON PLUS today held the stone-laying and groundbreaking ceremony for the EV manufacturing facility at the Rojana Nhongyai Industrial Park, Chonburi Province with Professor Dr. Thosaporn Sirisumphand – chairman of PTT and ARUN PLUS Board of Directors, Mr. Narit Therdsteerasukdi – secretary general of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), Mr. Piriya Khempon – special advisor of the eastern economic corridor office, Dr. Suo-Hang Chuang –representative of the Taipei economic and cultural office, Mr. Auttapol Rerkpiboon – president and CEO of PTT, Dr. Buranin Rattanasombat – chief new business and infrastructure officer of PTT and chairman of HORIZON PLUS board of directors, Mr. Mark Chien – general manager of FOXCONN D Business Group, and Mr. Kay Chiu – HORIZON PLUS CEO as the guests.
Professor Dr. Thosaporn revealed that “Today’s stone-laying ceremony marks another important step of collaboration between FOXCONN and PTT on our journey towards electrification of the regional automotive industry. As the world moves toward low-carbon society, transition to the greener transportation alternatives such as EV will play significant role in shaping future energy sustainability. This aligns with PTT commitment to create national energy security for the country. This collaboration also open up investment opportunities beyond production to include both upstream and downstream for the Thai automotive supply chain to better serve EV end consumers.
Mr. Auttapol Rerkpiboon – president and CEO of PTT mentioned that “The collaboration not only focuses on the investment of the EV production, but also on the research and development in Thailand. This includes knowledge transfer and trainings for local workforce. HORIZON PLUS stone-laying and groundbreaking ceremony emphasizes PTT Group commitment under the new vision: powering life with future energy and beyond. EV manufacturing facility will open business opportunities for our group to further strengthen the local EV supply chain and drive electrification of the ASEAN auto-industry.”
Dr. Buranin Rattanasombat – chief new business and infrastructure officer of PTT and chairman of HORIZON PLUS board of directors revealed that “HORIZON PLUS will operates based on the BOL philosophy which stands for Build-Operate-Localize to enhance the competitiveness of local automotive industry and supply chain in the long run. HORIZON PLUS will invest around 37,000 million THB (around 1 billion USD) for this EV facility with target to complete construction and ready for vehicle delivery by 2024. The initial capacity will be 50,000 EV per year and gradually ramp up to 150,000 EV per year by 2030 to support the growing demand of ASEAN EV market”
Mr. Kay Chiu – HORIZON PLUS CEO shared “the Business model of HORIZON PLUS is Contract Design and Manufacturing Service (CDMS) which is open to any automakers whose strategy is to have their vehicle produced in Thailand both for domestic and export market. This open and sharing manufacturing concept aligns with FOXCONN’s ambition in shaping the global EV industry based on MIH open platform.”
Horizon Plus Company Limited (HORIZON PLUS) is the joint venture between Arun Plus Company Limited (ARUN PLUS) – the EV flagship of PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), the Thai national energy conglomerate – and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd (FOXCONN) – the global leader in the manufacturing of electronic products. HORIZON PLUS will operate the comprehensive Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing facility including production of EV key components. The facility will be located on the majestic land plot of over 500,000 square meters in the eastern part of Thailand.
This collaboration between FOXCONN and PTT aims to support the transition of the Thai automotive industry from traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to EV. Automotive is one of the crucial sectors of the Thai economy – contributing around 6% of the country GDP and employs over 750,000 workers. HORIZON PLUS ambitious move to EV manufacturing will not only create jobs and re-skill the workforce, but also sustain Thailand’s position as the Detroit of Asia.
SOURCE: FOXCONN
