Changan Automobile plans to build a new energy vehicle (NEV) production base in Thailand, becoming the latest Chinese automaker to announce such plans.

Changan plans to invest 8.8 billion baht to build a NEV production base in Thailand. The first phase of the production site will have an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles, and the second phase will boost the capacity to 200,000 vehicles, Changan said. NEVs produced at the facility will be sold not only in Thailand but also exported to other markets including Australia, New Zealand, Britain and South Africa.

Thailand, Southeast Asia's largest car producer and exporter and the No. 1 market for electric vehicles (EVs), is also Changan's top priority in expanding overseas markets. The Thai government is promoting the country as an ASEAN EV production center with policies including tax breaks, consumption subsidies, and investment support.

Changan plans to invest more than $10 billion in overseas markets by 2030, with annual overseas sales of more than 1.2 million vehicles and more than 10,000 employees in its overseas operations, it said, reaffirming targets set in April.

By 2030, the company plans to see global sales of more than 500,000 units of two models, access to more than 90 percent of the world's markets, and sales of more than 300,000 units in Europe.

Thailand has become an important overseas market for Chinese EV brands focused on the mass market.