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 cars 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 battery electric vehicles (BEV) in 2020 was held by motorcycles (1,591 units). However, BEV cars caught up with 1,288 new registrations. In particular, sales of the ZS EV model by the Chinese manufacturer, MG, was gaining momentum.

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 supports electric vehicles achieve a breakthrough in the market and supports 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

at commercial locations in Bangkok. The company Evolt Technology is also expanding its charging network. Another provider of charging technology is Sharge Management.

BMW Thailand is co-operating with the Central retail group, the real estate company AP and the charging station operator GLT Green in setting up its ChargeNow TH charging network. The three state electricity suppliers, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Provincial Electricity Authority and Metropolitan Electricity Authority are setting up additional charging infrastructures, as is the energy group PTT, which is equipping its petrol petrol stations with electric charging stations.

In December 2020, the GPSC company opened its 30-megawatt-hour production of semi-solid lithium-ion batteries that can be used in e-vehicles. The joint stock company EA will commission the first phase of its 1 gigawatt/hour lithium-ion battery factory in 2021. EA already manufactures fully electric ferries for up to 200 passengers that will operate on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok.

EA production lines for electric buses and trucks are scheduled to start up in 2021, with an annual capacity of 3,000 units per year. And EA subsidiary MINE Mobility Corporation would also like to start producing and selling the MINE SPA1 electric car in 2021.

“According to press reports, by 2030 e-vehicles on Thailand’s roads should be 2.9 million cars and pickup trucks, 3.1 million motorcycles and 156,000 buses and trucks.”

New goals for e-vehicles

National New Generation Vehicle Committee has not yet set a new official target of electric vehicles production and sales. According to press reports, by 2030 e-vehicles on Thailand’s roads should be 2.9 million cars and pickup trucks, 3.1 million motorcycles and 156,000 buses and trucks. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry would like to propose additional subsidies because buyers of hybrid cars and BEVs do not receive any direct cash premium. However, they pay a reduced excise tax of 8 per cent on fully electric cars and only 2 per cent of those cars produced in Thailand as part of the BOI funding programme.

Twenty-six projects with a total investment value of US$ 2.6 billion successfully applied to the BOI e-vehicles programme, which ran until 2018. The BOI approved five hybrid vehicle production projects (Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mazda), six plug-in hybrid vehicle projects (BMW, Mercedes, MG, Mitsubishi, Audi, Toyota), 13 BEV projects (Fomm, Takano Auto, Sammitr, Skywell, Mercedes, Audi, Mine, Mitsubishi, MG, Nissan Toyota, etc.) and two manufacturing projects of electric buses.

The projects, with a total capacity of more than 566,000 e-vehicles, are either in implementation phases or are still being planned. Fourteen additional investments in component and parts manufacturing, including 10 in battery production, have also been approved. In addition, a BOI funding programme has been in place since November 2020 under which manufacturers of electrically powered vehicles and ships as well as key components receive exemptions from corporation tax for three to eight years together with other incentives.

Source: https://www.gtai.de/gtai-de/trade/branchen/ branchenbericht/thailand/e-mobility-604872

More Germany Trade & Invest reports: www.gtai.de/thailand

Contact details: Thomas Hundt, Director Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, GERMANY TRADE & INVEST, www.gtai.com

Electric vehicle charging on street parking with graphical user interface, Future EV car concept