Chinese EV makers challenging market leaders at auto show in Bangkok

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese electric vehicle makers are showcasing their latest models, including a flying car, as they take on global rivals at the Bangkok International Motor Show.

Companies like BYD, XPeng and Great Wall Motors are quickly growing their sales in Thailand, challenging longstanding market leaders like Toyota, Isuzu and Ford, as they expand exports across the globe.

And Thailand, one of the biggest markets in Southeast Asia, a region of more than 600 million people, has made developing its EV market a priority.

Tesla launched sales in late 2022, offering its popular Model 3 and Model Y at prices aimed at competing with rivals like China’s BYD.

BYD, or Build Your Dreams, displayed a wide range of its EV lineup, including its Dolphin, a pure EV that it says runs 490 kilometers (about 300 miles) on a single charge and is priced at 859,999 Thai baht ($23,700).

At the higher end of the spectrum is the Seal, promising 580 kilometers (about 360 miles) on a charge and costing nearly 1.6 million baht (about $44,000).

Visitors look at XPENG's electric vehicles during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

BYD sold 30,650 EVs in Thailand last year, followed by 12,777 sold by Neta, a brand of Chinese electric vehicle maker Hozon Auto, which is based in eastern China's Zhejiang province. They were trailed by Tesla, British brand MG and Chinese car maker Great Wall Motor.

“It’s very colourful now. Many brands come in. I think this is very good and it’s looking very bright for the whole market of EV cars to be honest," Pratarnwong Phornprapha, chief executive officer of the REVER Group, BYD's distributor in Thailand, said in an interview.

Also at the show: VinFast, a Vietnamese newcomer that says it plans to expand sales of its EVs to 50 countries by the end of this year. It is building or planning factories in the U.S., India and Indonesia.

Neta has announced plans to begin assembling EVs in Thailand, and Great Wall Motor bought a former General Motors plant in Rayong, south of Bangkok, as a base for its expansion into Southeast Asia.

Thailand's market for EVs accounted for just 0.5% of all EV sales globally, but nearly 60% of EV sales in Southeast Asia in 2022, ahead of both Vietnam and Indonesia, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research.

Thailand is already an auto manufacturing hub, with strong sales especially of pickups that are widely used for taxi services, hauling equipment for people running food stalls and carrying farmers' crops to markets.

Visitors look at Great Wall Motor's electric vehicle "ORA Good Cat" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The roads are jammed with a wide array of models, with a strong presence of Toyotas, Hondas, Isuzus, Fords, Nissans and Mercedes-Benz. There's also a hefty share of luxury models such as Porsches and Maseratis.

The variety of automakers keen to win Thai customers was evident in the displays.

“The highlight this year would be that most automakers are joining us here, including Japanese, European and Chinese,” said Peeraphong Eamlumnow, an organizer of the show.

"If you compare to (motor shows in) other countries, in Japan, most of them would be Japanese brands. In Europe, most of them would be European auto-makers. But Thailand welcomes every country to invest and sell their products,” he said.

The show opened to the public on Wednesday.

Thailand is working to quickly expand a nationwide network of charging stations to accommodate EVs, though most vehicles on the roads are still gasoline, diesel or LPG-fueled.

XPeng, a start-up based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, is another newcomer to an already overcrowded market back home. But Paramee Thingcharoen, its chief marketing officer, said the company saw plenty of opportunity and was testing the waters.

Vu Dang Yen Hang, chief executive officer of VinFast Thailand, smiles in front of its electric vehicle "VF7" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

“We target the premium segment, however, in the very high tech products that we have to offer. We’re pretty confident that we have a wide space to enter the market with that positioning, and we’re not quite worried about the competition,” she said.

XPeng was displaying its XPeng AeroHT Voyager X2, a flying concept car.

The flying car can be flown in China but was only on display in Bangkok since the company does not have a license to fly it in Thailand, Paramee said.

“We believe the future mobility is not limited to only on wheels,” she said. “It can be a unicorn you can ride on in the future. It’s unlimited.”

Associated Press writers Aniruddha Ghosal and Jerry Harmer contributed.

Visitors look at ZEEKR's electric vehicles "009" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Vu Dang Yen Hang, chief executive officer of VinFast Thailand, poses in front of its electric vehicle VF7 during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Thai model poses next to Vinfast's electric concept pickup trucks called "Wild" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Visitors look at Great Wall Motor's electric vehicle "Poer Sahar" pickup truck during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Visitors look at Honda's electric vehicle "E:N1" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Thailand. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Visitors look at ZEEKR X during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A model stands next to CHANGAN's electric vehicle "Deepal LO7" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Visitors look at BYD's electric vehicle "Sealion" during the 45th Bangkok Motor Show in Nonthaburi , Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Thailand. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Legislature approved a repeal of a long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions Wednesday, advancing the bill to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is expected to sign it.

Two Republicans joined with Democrats in the Senate on the 16-14 vote in favor of repealing a Civil War-era ban on abortions that the state’s highest court recently allowed to take effect. The ban on all abortions — which provides no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, and only allows for procedures done to save a patient’s life — would still be active until the fall.

Hobbs said in a statement that she looks forward to quickly signing the repeal, with a ceremony scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The House clerk’s office said it would move quickly to forward the bill to governor.

“Arizona women should not have to live in a state where politicians make decisions that should be between a woman and her doctor,” Hobbs said. “While this repeal is essential for protecting women’s lives, it is just the beginning of our fight to protect reproductive healthcare.”

The revival of the 19th century law has put Republicans on the defensive, as it's one of a handful of battleground states that will decide the next president.

“Across the country, women are living in a state of chaos and cruelty caused by Donald Trump,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement on Wednesday. “While Arizona Democrats have worked to clean up the devastating mess created by Trump and his extremist allies, the state’s existing ban, with no exception for rape or incest, remains in effect.”

If the repeal bill is signed, a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become Arizona’s prevailing abortion law. Still, there would likely be a period when nearly all abortions would be outlawed, because the repeal won’t take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, likely in June or July.

Arizona state Attorney General Kris Mayes called the vote “a win for freedom in our state,” but expressed concern that without an emergency clause, Arizonans would still be subject to the near total-abortion ban for some time.

“Rest assured, my office is exploring every option available to prevent this outrageous 160-year-old law from ever taking effect,” she said.

The near-total ban on abortions predates Arizona’s statehood. In a ruling last month, the Arizona Supreme Court suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the 1864 law, which says that anyone who assists in an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison. Then, last week, the repeal bill narrowly cleared the Arizona House.

Voting on the bill stretched more than an hour on Wednesday, amid impassioned speeches about the motivations behind individual votes.

“This is about the Civil War-era ban that criminalizes doctors and makes virtually all abortions illegal, the ban that the people of Arizona overwhelmingly don’t want,” said Democratic state Sen. Eva Burch. "We’re here to repeal a bad law. I don’t want us honoring laws about women written during a time when women were forbidden from voting because their voices were considered inferior to men.”

Burch made public on the Senate floor in March that she had a non-viable pregnancy and was going to have an abortion. She warned supporters of reproductive rights on Wednesday that they could not yet rest easy, even after the repeal is signed.

“They are going to use every tool in the toolbox to try to do whatever it is they can to interfere with the repeal of this ban," she said.

There were numerous disruptions from people in Senate gallery Wednesday, as Republican state Sen. Shawnna Bolick explained her vote in favor of repeal, joining with Democrats.

GOP state Sen. Jake Hoffman denounced Republican colleagues for joining with Democratic colleagues, calling it an affront to his party's principles.

“It is disgusting that this is the state of the Republican Party today," Hoffman said.

Advocates on both sides of the abortion issue arrived outside the Arizona Senate on Wednesday to emphasize their views. They included people affiliated with Planned Parenthood and faith-based groups opposed to abortion.

A school-age girl kneeled in prayer in front of a table holding a large statute of the Virgin Mary, while a man with a megaphone shouted at passersby to repent.

Outside Phoenix in the satellite town of Gilbert, 26-year-old Anna Kupitz, a middle-school math teacher, expressed disappointment in the Senate vote to overturn a near-total abortion ban.

“It is outrageous that we believe so little in women’s ability to value the life of their child and also value their careers,” she said. “As a country, we believe that human life deserves to be protected.”

Former President Donald Trump, who has warned that the issue could lead to Republican losses, has avoided endorsing a national abortion ban but said he’s proud to have appointed the Supreme Court justices who allowed states to outlaw it.

The law had been blocked since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022 though, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, persuaded a state judge that the 1864 ban could again be enforced. Still, the law hasn’t actually been enforced while the case was making its way through the courts. Mayes, who succeeded Brnovich, urged the state’s high court against reviving the law.

Planned Parenthood officials have vowed to continue providing abortions for the short time they are still legal and said they will reinforce networks that help patients travel out of state to places like New Mexico and California to access abortion.

Advocates are collecting signatures for a ballot measure allowing abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions — to save the parent’s life, or to protect her physical or mental health.

Republican lawmakers, in turn, are considering putting one or more competing abortion proposals on the November ballot.

A leaked planning document outlined the approaches being considered by House Republicans, such as codifying existing abortion regulations, proposing a 14-week ban that would be “disguised as a 15-week law” because it would allow abortions until the beginning of the 15th week, and a measure that would prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they’re pregnant.

House Republicans have not yet publicly released any such proposed ballot measures.

Arizona state senator Shawnna Bolick, R-District 2, speaks, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Anti-abortion supporters stand outside the Capitol, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Democratic Arizona state senator Anna Hernandez, D-District 24, left, hugs a colleague after a their vote, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democrats secured enough votes in the Arizona Senate to repeal a Civil War-era ban on abortions that the state's highest court recently allowed to take effect. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona state senator Jake Hoffman, R-District 15, speaks Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democrats secured enough votes in the Arizona Senate to repeal a Civil War-era ban on abortions that the state's highest court recently allowed to take effect. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Democratic Arizona state senators hug after a their vote, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona state senator Eva Burch, D-District 9, looks on, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona state senator J. D. Mesnard, R-District 13, plays audio of a heart beat from his cell phone, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona state senator Shawnna Bolick, R-District 2, speaks, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona state senator Jake Hoffman, R-District 15, motions as he speaks to the Senate President, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

FILE - The Arizona Senate building at the state Capitol stands, April 11, 2024, in Phoenix. Democrats at the Arizona Legislature are expected to make a final push Wednesday, May 1, to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions that a court said can be enforced. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FILE - Pro-life demonstrators walk in the front of the Arizona Capitol prior to the vote on the proposed repeal of the state's near-total ban on abortions prior to winning approval from the state House on, April 24, 2024, in Phoenix. Democrats at the Arizona Legislature are expected to make a final push Wednesday, May 1, to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions that a court said can be enforced. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)