Thailand is pushing for electric vehicles

Thailand is looking to a greener future, as tax cuts for EVs have been implemented to incentivise people to buy them and foreign manufacturers to export them.

Even before the pandemic hit, the city of Bangkok was no stranger to having to wear masks. Bangkok is notorious for being one of the most polluted cities in the world, and every year like clockwork around January for the past few years, the city’s air quality will plummet. An unhealthy amount of dust particles in the air, also known as PM 2.5, forces residents to don N95 masks and buy air purifiers for their homes. Despite the lockdowns early in the pandemic giving the city’s air a bit of respite, no long-term solutions have been given, but a new push for electric vehicles in Thailand could perhaps turn things around.

Thailand's push for EVs may open up new paths to improving air quality and decreasing pollution. Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash  

In February, the Thai cabinet approved an excise tax cut for imported electric vehicles, or EVs, bringing it down to two percent from eight percent, and was implemented this June. EV imports priced up to 2 million Thai baht also get a hefty 40 percent reduction on import duty while EVs priced between 2 to 7 million THB get a 20 percent reduction. This is just the tip of the iceberg as hybrid pickup trucks, eco-cars, and EVs that can carry 10 passengers also get their specific tax reduction. The cuts will expire, though the earliest is set to expire in 2023, and even then, all that will happen is the tax cut will be reduced.

This push for EVs is unprecedented in the country. The National News Bureau of Thailand (NNBT) has reported that the goal is for 30 percent of the country’s auto production to be EVs by 2030. The tax cuts will also hopefully entice EV manufacturers to make their way to the Land of Smiles.

“I believe there will be at least three to four EV manufacturers from Japan and China and two to three electric motorcycle makers from Thailand and China signing MoUs (memoranda of understanding) this year,” said Nattakorn Utensut, spokesman for the Excise Department, in an article by the Bangkok Post.

The nation’s capital, Bangkok, could very well be the epicentre of the EV movement (and aid in the city’s pollution problems). Charging stations have been popping up all over the city in recent years, but one of the campaign promises from newly elected governor Chadchart Sittipunt was to have an EV ecosystem in Bangkok. Some of his proposed steps to accomplish this is to build more charging stations for public use and to allow people to convert their combustion engines to electric.

Chinese-owned car manufacturer Great Wall Motors is a major provider of EVs to Thailand. 

Slowly but surely, EVs on the road in Bangkok are becoming commonplace. The Chinese-owned car manufacturer Great Wall Motor, or GWM, has been one of the major providers of hybrids and EVs like the Haval SUV and the cute Mini Cooper-like ORA Good Cat. Even public vehicles have started jumping into the fray. An app called Muvmi now provides an alternative to the famous tuk-tuks of Bangkok with their own electric-powered version. Plus, it’s also a ride-sharing service, which makes it all the more sustainable. It’s not just the roads that are seeing EVs but the waterways as well. The Chao Phraya Express Boat Co. have opted to switch out their diesel-powered boats that ferry passengers on the Chao Phraya River for electric-powered ones.

However, all these electric vehicles would be useless without any charging stations. According to another Bangkok Post article, the number of chargers in the city is estimated to grow from 900 to 4,400 by 2025, in line with the governor’s plans. Charging stations around the city are also becoming more common, usually found in gas stations and malls. Some are also calling for condominium developers to have wires and outlets in their parking spaces in preparation for the possible influx of EVs. However, despite the rise of charging stations all around the city, it’s still hard to find in other places in the country, which means taking an EV on a trip outside Bangkok could be a bit of a challenge.

The Bangkok governor’s plans for EVs have been resoundingly welcomed by everyone, though there are a few reservations. For example, the proposal to present the option of converting combustion engines to run on a battery instead could be pricey according to Chris Wailes, the managing director of Volvo Car Thailand.

“These are technically achievable, but I would expect the cost of converting a traditional internal combustion engine car to electric would inhibit most people from doing it."

Chris Wailes, managing director of Volvo Car Thailand.

There’s also the question of limited resources. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, or BMA, receives a government subsidy of 20 billion THB, while having a budget of 70 billion THB every year. Whether Sittipunt will be able to fulfil his campaign promises on these resources is yet to be seen.

Thailand’s push for EVs is in step with what has been happening in Southeast Asia as a whole. Nikkei Asia reported that many EV manufacturers are located in China and South Korea with Japan lagging behind. The Business Times also reported that the EV “could be a largely made-in-Southeast Asia product—if the ambitions of the region to build an empire in green transportation come to fruition,” citing the fact that many of the resources needed to make EVs are found all throughout Southeast Asia. It even dubbed Thailand the “Detroit of the region” for being ranked 11th globally in auto manufacturing output.

The next few years will determine whether these implemented tax cuts will result in more EVs being adopted by the Thai people. Even just for Bangkok, it will tremendously help in the city’s pollution problems that have plagued it for years, though its traffic problem is another thing entirely (something that Sittipunt has also promised to solve). It definitely seems to be on-trend with the rest of its ASEAN neighbours, and it’s very likely that EVs will now be the norm from here on out.

- Asia Media Centre