04 E-MOBILITY
Charging modern electric cars (new energy vehicles, NEV) on the street station
E-mobility in Thailand getting started Thomas Hundt
Thailand plans to increase local production and sales of electric cars, pickup trucks and electric motorcycles. In fact, the first e-mobility projects are already underway and hybrid vehicles are selling well. At the end of 2020, 179,034 hybrid electric car s had been registered nationwide. However, the total number of fully electric four-wheelers and two-wheelers registered totalled only 5,685 vehicles. The largest sales share of new batter y electric vehicles (BEV) in 2020 was held by motorcycles (1,591 units). However, BEV cars caught up with 1,288 new registrations. In par ticular, sales of the ZS EV model by the Chinese manufacturer, MG, was gaining momentum.
New registrations of electric vehicles (per unit) *
Battery electric vehicles
Hybrid vehicle
2018
325
20,344
2019
1,572
30,676
2020
2,999
32,264
*Cars, motorcycles and tuk tuks (tricycles) Source: Electric Vehicles Association of Thailand.
UPDATE 3/2021
Electric cars from China can be imported duty-free The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Trade in Goods between China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) came into force in July 2005. Thailand committed here to reduce tariffs on electric cars from China to zero from 2018 onwards. An import duty rate of 80 per cent applies to electric passenger cars originating from the European Union. Cars originating from the Republic of Korea are subject to a duty at preferential rate of 40 per cent, while for those originating in Japan a preferential rate of 20 per cent is applied. Both countries have FTAs with the ASEAN members in force. A resumption of negotiations on an FTA between Thailand and the European Union is currently being considered. Industry experts worry that e-cars imported from China will overrun the market and prevent the planned establishment of an e-vehicle industry in Thailand. The Chinese company SAIC Motor is already producing MG hybrid vehicles in Thailand and importing the BEV model ZS EV. The BYD group has also sold its first BEV models and is testing the market.
The Chinese Great Wall Group (GWM group), which took over a factory of the United States automobile company GM in Thailand’s Rayong province in 2020, wants to build BEVs there from 2023. Great Wall has announced that it will offer several new BEV models in the future.
Construction of charging infrastructure underway The EVAT (Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand), founded in 2015, has 160 member companies, including car manufacturers, suppliers and energy companies. EVAT suppor ts electr ic vehicles achieve a breakthrough in the market and suppor ts developing charging stations. In November 2020, EVAT identified 647 charging locations nationwide with 706 direct current connections (DC) and 1,220 alternating current connections (AC). For AC plug connections, the Thai Industrial Standards Institute has opted for the European standard IEC 62196 Type 2. A decision on the future DC connection standard is still pending. Most of the charging stations in 2020 were operated by the energy company, Energy Absolute (EA), under the EA Anywhere brand. Currently, EA is expanding its charging stations
