Chinese automaker GAC Aion, a subsidiary of GAC Group, has built a "lighthouse factory" in Thailand, marking a milestone in the company's overseas expansion and its contribution to upgrading Thailand's automotive industry with advanced technologies.
Selected by the World Economic Forum, "lighthouse factories" are considered to represent the highest level of global intelligent manufacturing.
Located in Amata City Rayong Industrial Park in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, the smart factory began operation in July this year with a planned investment of 2.3 billion baht (64 million U.S. dollars) and an annual capacity of 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs).
The factory is a highly intelligent plant which applies new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to achieve more efficient production of multiple models.
It has the first and only fully autonomous mobile robotic auto production platform in Thailand, according to Ma Haiyang, general manager of GAC Aion Southeast Asia.
"As we know, traditional production lines are linear, sequential and unable to conduct flexible production. While our production line uses intelligent network technologies and an intelligent mobile platform that can automatically identify positions to enable intelligent and sequential production," Ma said.
Thailand has long been a major automobile production base in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. With the help of the Thai government's investment promotion, EVs are expected to account for 30 percent of the country's total vehicle production by 2030.
GAC Aion officially launched its Thailand strategy in June last year and its first product was launched in September.
Chinese companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia at large are also working with local colleges to cultivate talents for the EV industry.
In recent years, GAC Group has vigorously expanded overseas markets. It now operates with automobile sales and after-sales services in 68 countries and regions.
China's EV brand operates "lighthouse factory" in Thailand
Heavy winter rains and rising tides have worsened the plight of displaced Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, with families on the beach west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza losing their homes to the floodwaters and struggling to find shelter and basic necessities.
Umm Ahmed, a displaced resident, recounted how rising waves nearly drowned her children and destroyed their tent and belongings, leaving her family without shelter.
"Our children (girls) were covered by water. Our tent is destroyed. Everything is gone. We are here by the sea, the tent fell on us. The waves rose and the water rushed in. Our neighbors took our children to their tents in higher places. Since the morning, my son and I have been taking all our belongings out of the tent. There are no clothes left for the children, no bedding, no clothes. There is no place for us. We had moved to the beach. Where do we go now? May God punish Israelis for what they did to us. They tortured us, we can't sleep. We can't even settle. We have no food nor drink. The prices are very high. Our children go to sleep hungry. [We can only say:] Thank God for everything," she said.
Jamil Dhahir, another displaced resident, lamented the dire conditions where his family, separated when fleeing the waves, is now struggling with illness, lack of sleep and uncertainty about where to go next.
"They told us to move to this 'safe area', and as you can see, we were all harmed. Where do we go? We were in the camp east of Khan Younis before and later moved here. Where shall we go next? Our children and women are all sick. We haven't slept since yesterday. We fled the waves at night and the children went with their mothers to another camp to the east of here, while I stayed here," he said.
In a social media post on Monday, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the recent rains have already caused immense hardship for Gazans, with a half million people at risk of flooding.
"The situation will only get worse with every drop of rain, every bomb, every strike," the agency said.
According to a statement released Wednesday by Gaza-based health authorities, the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza had risen to 44,282, with 104,880 injured.
Winter rains compound suffering for displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza
