14 E-MOBILITY
Future mobility: The EV roadmap for Thailand Suriyong Tungsuwan and Varutt Kittichungchit
It is difficult to deny that with numerous technological disruptions during the past decade, the automotive industry is one of the most disrupted. With the acceleration of advanced device and sensor technologies and AI embedded systems, the current generation of automobiles have become much “smarter” with these technological advancements. Challenges and disruptions in the automotive industry boil down to the acronym “CASE”, which stands for Connected cars/Autonomous driving/Shared mobility/Electrification – four potentially major trends linked to the evolution of the industry. The new trend of CASE may take another decade or two before maturity, but we can safely say that a new age of vehicles has dawned. Looking at Thailand, the CASE trend has been well-recognised both by the public and private sectors, and the government has been working for some time on developing relevant laws. Some of these laws include: • Amendment to the regulations regarding permission for use of radio communication equipment for radar systems in vehicles in early 2018, to ensure the safety of using transmitter devices with certain frequencies in automated vehicles; • Designation of “next-generation automotive” development as the first category of targeted industries granted several types of investment privileges under the Eastern Special Development Zone Act (commonly called the EEC Act) enacted in May 2018; • The Board of Investment’s (BOI) official notification to implement its new investment promotion scheme for electric vehicles (EVs) and related businesses.
UPDATE 3/2021
EVs are charging ahead Of the four components of CASE, EVs seem to be accelerating at a greater speed, both globally and in Thailand. For automated vehicles, some of the greatest hurdles lie in the legal and local regulatory framework and industry standards, which have yet to be developed. Having said that, some promising trends have been seen that give a strong push towards the reality of autonomous cars in several jurisdictions, notably the United States, the European Union and Japan. As for Thailand, the related AI law and Internet of Things (IoT) legal frameworks, which underpin autonomous and connected vehicles, are still at the development stage; however, they have shown consistent progress. Earlier this year, the Ministr y of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, set up a task force to
