On June 9, 2026, Changan Automobile's Thailand Rayong Factory reached a key milestone: the 20,000th complete vehicle officially went off the line, with Qiyuan Q05 (Overseas Version NEVO Q05) becoming the current production capacity mainstay. This Changan's first overseas new energy vehicle base, commissioned in May 2025, completed the transition from production ramp-up to full-load operation in just 13 months, shortening the cycle by 6 months compared to the average for similar new energy vehicle factories in Southeast Asia. From Deepal S05 topping the Thailand pure electric SUV sales chart immediately after launch to Qiyuan Q05 receiving 3,000 orders in 3 days, Changan, centered on localized manufacturing, is gradually building a competitive advantage in the new energy vehicle era in the Thai market where Japanese brands have dominated for nearly 60 years.
Rayong Factory: The Core Carrier of Changan's Global Right-Hand Drive Strategy
Changan's decision to locate in Rayong, Thailand, was a comprehensive strategic decision based on industrial foundation, location advantages, and policy environment. Rayong Province, as the core area of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, is known as the "Oriental Detroit". Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and other Japanese automakers have cultivated this area for decades, forming a complete automotive parts supply chain and a mature industrial worker system.
At the same time, relying on the ASEAN Free Trade Area Agreement, complete vehicles manufactured in Thailand can be exported tax-free to 9 ASEAN countries, covering a right-hand drive vehicle market of 600 million people, and can radiate to other global right-hand drive regions such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, making it an ideal hub for Chinese automakers to layout the global right-hand drive market.
On the policy level, Thailand government's "30·30" Policy launched in 2021 clearly stated that by 2030, new energy vehicles will account for no less than 30% of total domestic vehicle production, and provide investment subsidies of up to 30% and up to 8 years of corporate income tax exemption for qualifying automakers, while giving consumers up to 100,000 Baht vehicle purchase subsidies. Superimposed on the benefits of China-Thailand "Belt and Road" capacity cooperation, Rayong Factory has become a benchmark project of Chongqing's "Chongqing Cars Going Global" Action Plan.
The factory was laid on November 2023, with a total investment of about 2.2 billion yuan, covering an area of 588 mu, and was built and put into production in just 18 months. The factory is built according to "Green, Intelligent" standards, setting up five intelligent workshops: welding, painting, assembly, engine, and battery assembly. The automation rate of key quality control stations reaches 90%, completely replicating the manufacturing system and quality standards of Changan Chongqing Headquarters.
Currently, Rayong Factory has been upgraded to Changan Southeast Asia Manufacturing Headquarters, Global Right-Hand Drive Vehicle Supply Center, and Overseas Spare Parts Center. It can produce multiple right-hand drive models of three major brands Deepal, Qiyuan, and Avatr on mixed lines. Phase 1 annual capacity is 100,000 units, with a long-term planned capacity of 200,000 units.
Deepal S05: Strategic Breakthrough Model, Reshaping Market Competition Logic
As the first model put into production at Rayong Factory, the Deepal S05 right-hand drive version undertakes the core task of Changan opening the Thailand market. After launching in May 2025, the car quickly topped the Thailand pure electric SUV monthly sales chart, accumulated 6,589 orders at the Bangkok Motor Show that year, and annual sales exceeded 12,000 units, helping Changan rank in the top 5 of Thailand's new energy vehicle brands. The core support for its market performance lies in its precise match of Thai consumer needs, forming obvious product power and price advantages against Japanese competitors.
Regarding the pricing system, the Thailand market has long formed a pattern of "fuel vehicles are accessible, electric vehicles are premium": mainstream compact fuel SUV starting prices are concentrated in the 750,000-950,000 Baht range, while imported pure electric models, due to high tariffs of 80%, have starting prices generally exceeding 1.2 million Baht. Thanks to local production, Deepal S05's starting price after deducting government subsidies is 799,000 Baht, flat with the Honda HR-V 1.5L Gas Version, and only 40,000 Baht higher than the Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8L Gas Version.
Regarding usage costs, Deepal S05's cost per kilometer driven is about 0.15 Baht, only 1/10 of same-class Japanese fuel cars. For Thai household users with annual mileage over 20,000 km, this has significant full lifecycle cost advantages. In contrast, Japanese pure electric models, with Toyota bZ4X starting price at 1.299 million Baht and Nissan Ariya starting price at 1.799 million Baht, have mismatched price and product power, resulting in Japanese pure electric models in Thailand having a combined market share of less than 8% in 2025.
Regarding product power, Deepal S05 has been deeply optimized for the Thailand tropical climate and usage scenarios.
Regarding the three-electric system, it is equipped with CATL's "Golden Bell Battery" developed specifically for the Southeast Asian market, adopting full-domain liquid cooling temperature control technology. The range attenuation rate is controlled within 10% in a 45°C high-temperature environment, and the actual 520km CLTC range can reach 460km; it supports 3C supercharging technology, can replenish 300km range in 15 minutes, and charging from 30%-80% takes only 15 minutes, with charging efficiency about 3 times that of Japanese pure electric models.
Regarding intelligence, Deepal S05 is standard with Huawei ADS SE Intelligent Driving System, supporting Highway NOA, Auto Parking, 540-degree panoramic image, and other L2+ level functions, and supporting vehicle OTA upgrades; while same-class Japanese fuel cars and pure electric models, L2 level intelligent driving assistance systems generally require additional paid options, and do not have V2X/Internet connectivity and OTA upgrade capabilities. In addition, Deepal S05's Extended Range version has a combined range of 1234km, effectively solving the range anxiety brought by imperfect charging infrastructure in some parts of Thailand.
Regarding market landscape, according to data from Thailand Automotive Institute, in 2025 the sales of Thailand's compact fuel SUV market decreased 18.7% year-on-year, among them Toyota Corolla Cross sales decreased 22.3%, Honda HR-V sales decreased 26.5%. Market research shows that 62% of Deepal S05 users originally planned to buy Japanese fuel cars, indicating Changan has successfully cut into the traditional core market of Japanese brands.
Dual Brand Synergy and Future Development Prospects
After Deepal S05 established itself in the mid-to-high-end market, Changan launched Qiyuan Q05 to enter the mass family market. The car launched with a starting price of 699,000 Baht, received 3,000 orders in 3 days, and quickly became Rayong Factory's main model. Through the "Deepal + NEVO (Qiyuan)" Dual Brand Layout, Changan has formed a product matrix covering the 700,000-1,000,000 Baht core price range, targeting young groups pursuing technology and sports and family users focusing on practicality and cost-performance respectively.
Standing on the new starting point of 20,000 units off the line, Changan plans to introduce 7 brand new new energy vehicle models to the Thailand market from 2026 to 2028, covering sub-segments such as entry-level pure electric sedans, Medium SUVs, High-end MPVs; at the same time accelerate the supply chain localization process, aiming to increase parts localization rate to 70% by 2027, further reducing production costs and delivery cycles. Long term, Changan's goal is to enter the top 3 of Thailand's pure electric car brands by 2030.
Currently, Japanese automakers are accelerating the launch of new energy models to respond to market changes, and Chinese brands like BYD and Geely are also continuously investing more in the Southeast Asia market, and industry competition will become increasingly fierce. But relying on leading three-electric technology, mature intelligent manufacturing system, and precise localization strategy, Changan has already established a first-mover advantage in the Thailand market. From product export to whole industry chain going global, the development path of Changan Rayong Factory also provides a reference sample for the globalization of Chinese automotive brands.
