DFSK Thailand Co plans to roll out commercial vehicles under the Jinbei brand early next year.
The company and China's Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd (Brilliance Auto) are in a 70-30 venture to set up a facility in Chachoengsao's Gateway City Industrial Estate to make the Jinbei van, said DFSK Thailand president Saengarun Tanadamrongsak.
Construction, which began earlier this year, is scheduled to be completed in December.
Maximum production for the new investment is 5,000 units per year, with the first-year output possibly running at only 2,000 units.
A diesel-fuelled model will be launched next January, to be followed by a diesel-CNG model in April.
The Jinbei van is a 14-seat minibus with a starting price of 800,000 baht.
Compared with the 1.58-million-baht commercial van currently on the market, Jinbei will be another choice for Thai customers, said Mr Saengarun, who is also chief executive of Brilliance Auto (Thailand).
Jinbei also aims to export its products to Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos in 2015, when the Asean Economic Community comes into force.
Last month, Brilliance Auto partnered with Russia's AMS Auto to produce Jinbei light trucks in that country.
DFSK, the local subsidiary of China's DFSK Motors, one of the top three car makers in China with an annual production capacity of 3 million vehicles, commenced operations in Thailand in 2008 as an authorised distributor.
In 2010, the parent company built a 100-million-baht factory in Chachoengsao province.
DFSK sold 3,000 vehicles in Thailand last year and expects a 50% jump to 4,500 this year. The car maker hopes to sell 10,000 vehicles in Thailand alone in 2015 and 30,000 throughout Asean including Thailand by 2020.
Brilliance Auto regional manager David Wang said the company cannot grow in Thailand without a local partner.
Jinbei vans are based on technology provided by Toyota, which formed a partnership with the company in 1990.