Accord (Honda)

According to various media sources on July 24, the Huadu District Bureau of Development and Reform in Guangzhou approved the implementation of a vehicle-road-cloud integration pilot project for intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) on July 22. According to the information from the online approval and supervision platform for investment projects in Guangdong Province, this pilot project will be carried out across the entire jurisdiction of Huadu District. A total of CNY 1.195 billion will be invested in the pilot project, which is scheduled to be implemented from September 1, 2024 to December 1, 2026. 

As per the details released, the road test equipment (including roadside units, mobile edge computing units and radars) will be deployed at 400 nodes within a network of 110 roads in the Huadu District. Additionally, the district will create the scenarios of vehicle-road-cloud integration. A total of 200 autonomous vehicles will be put into operation, while the post-installed onboard units in about 2,000 vehicles (including buses, coaches and vans) will be retrofitted. Furthermore, the district will develop a city-level cloud-based control platform for vehicle-road coordination and an integrated tool library. A data trading platform and an assets appraisal model will be created as well. 

From various media sources and information from the online approval and supervision platform for investment projects in Guangdong Province 

According to multiple sources dated July 24, Sichuan Xiaodian New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was recently established in Leshan City, Sichuan Province.

According to information from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS) in China, the company has a registered capital of CNY 1.7 billion. It is jointly held by Hunan Zhidian Smart New Energy Automotive Co., Ltd. (Zhidian Motor), Shanghai Xiaodian Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Zhidian Motor), Leshan State-owned Assets Investment and Operation (Group) Co., Ltd., and Leshan Xingjia Investment Development (Group) Co., Ltd. Its business scope includes production of road motor vehicles, manufacturing of automotive parts and accessories, battery manufacturing, and R&D of automotive parts.

From multiple sources and information on NECIPS

Announced on July 25, 2024, The FTI decided to revise its projection on local car production in 2024 downward from 1.9 million units to 1.7 million units. The targeted vehicle production for exports stays at 1.15 million units, while production for local sales has been lowered from 750,000 units to 550,000 units.

The (negative) factors affecting domestic sales, according to the FTI, are; 

• Household debt that has already exceeded 90% of Thailand’s GDP and the low household income following the slow economic growth.
• Foreign investment as well as the manufacturing production index that continued to decline. Workers got paid less than before, causing them to be more cautious about spending.
• Many economy-related agencies’ decision to cut the growth forecast for Thailand's economy in 2024.
• Financial institutions’ strictness in granting auto loans, especially with pickup trucks.
• Number of working-age workers in Thailand, which is lower than those in neighboring countries (due to the low birth rate). Companies may hesitate to make new investments in an aging society.

Other concerns include (i) the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and Israel–Hamas war that may escalate, (ii) The U.S.’ stricter controls on semiconductors from China, and (iii) China’s slow economic growth that may impact other Asian countries’ economies.

(From FTI Announcement / release on July 25, 2024)