Asian Tech Press (Oct 26) -- Chang'an Automobile Co., Ltd. (000625.SZ) has signed an agreement with WHA Corp. to buy 40 hectares of land to set up an electric vehicle production base in Thailand.

The Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer has been aggressively expanding overseas, with plans to complete market entry in two key regions, Southeast Asia and Europe, by 2024.

The new plant is to be located in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a special economic zone in Thailand, with an investment of 8.86 billion baht in the first phase, according to Thursday's joint statement.

The plant will start production in 2025 with an annual capacity of 100,000 electric vehicles, which will be sold in Thailand and exported to ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and South Africa.

On October 17, at the CEO Conference during the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, Changan Auto signed a contract with Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) on the site of the above investment plan.