Tesla has been officially registered as a company in Thailand, the Department of Business Development announced.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker was registered on May 25 with a 3-million-baht capital to a business address at All Seasons Place in Witthayu.
Documents retrieved from the Department of Business Development website showed that Tesla Company (Thailand) Ltd’s main objective is to sell electric vehicles. However, it will not assemble or produce EVs locally.
The firm also plans to introduce energy storage and power production systems to the Thai market.
According to registration documents, Tesla’s board members in Thailand include former Tesla India’s director David Jon Feinstein as Global Senior Director – Commercial Market Access.
Vaibhav Taneja, former Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Ltd’s director, was also listed in the registration papers as Chief Accounting Officer. The third member was Yaron Klein, Tesla Asset Manager, now appointed as Tesla Energy Operations’ Chief Financial Officer.
The company’s official registration in Thailand is in line with the government’s strategy to promote the use of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions. The announcement comes two months after authorities approved a 3-billion-baht budget to subsidize EVs at retail prices for local customers.
Earlier in May, the government also announced a 40% reduction in import tariffs on electric vehicles with retail prices of no more than 2 million baht.
Tesla joins a group of firms vying to sell electric vehicles in the kingdom, including Honda, BMW, Benz, Mitsubishi, Foxconn, Nissan, and Neta. Moreover, Great Wall Motor and MG Camp agreed to participate in the government initiative and promised to put 2,000 EVs up for sale in the country.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has started setting up free charging stations for electric vehicles at various points in the capital, including Benjakitti Park, expecting to encourage people to switch to EVs.
Tesla has also shown interest in other Southeast Asian countries. The automaker reportedly plans to set up a shop in Indonesia, where it has also promised to build an EV and battery factory, and intends to set up supercharger sites in Malaysia.
