Gasgoo Munich-GAC Group's first overseas battery pack plant is officially up and running. The opening ceremony for the GAC IBT Battery Thailand factory and the rollout of its first battery pack took place on October 29 in Chonburi, Gasgoo learned from the automaker on November 3. The facility marks GAC's first proprietary battery pack operation abroad, enabling localized vehicle production and battery supply in Thailand.
Image credit: GAC Group
Phase one of the plant is designed to produce 7,000 battery packs annually, primarily supplying the Aion Y Plus produced in Thailand. A second phase reserves room for expansion, with capacity expected to reach 20,000 packs once fully ramped up.
For manufacturing, the Thai plant will adopt the same battery pack production processes and quality management systems used at GAC IBT Battery’s domestic facilities. Local battery supply will shorten delivery lead times and shore up the stability of GAC’s overseas supply chain, the company said.
Image credit: GAC Group
GAC IBT Battery sits at the core of the automaker’s battery business. GAC began developing battery systems and battery management systems (BMS) in 2011, later expanding into cell R&D, production, and pack manufacturing. Its domestic plant came online in 2023. Just before the Thai facility ramped up, GAC IBT Battery rolled out its 300,000th battery pack in Guangzhou.
Thailand has spent recent years using policies like EV 3.5 to spur its new-energy vehicle sector, pushing automakers to localize production. As Chinese carmakers accelerate their Southeast Asian expansion, overseas manufacturing is shifting from simple vehicle assembly to local sourcing of core components.
For GAC, the Thai pack plant further rounds out its local manufacturing footprint. For now, though, the facility mainly serves existing Aion models. Any further capacity expansions or a broader local supply scope will hinge on demand across Southeast Asia and the trajectory of GAC’s overseas business.
