Thailand takes a step further towards electrified vehicles

The Government of Thailand has revised its steps and has devised a roadmap with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to increase  EV productions by 30% in the next 10 years. 

Under the roadmap, the Thai government looks forward to get cooperation with the state agencies in achieving the feat. The target is to produce 2,50,000 electrified vehicles which would also comprise 3,000 electric public buses and 53,000 electric bikes. 

With their plans to promote Thailand as ‘center of a new generation of auto manufacturing’ on the global platform, the Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak commented "The Board of Investment [BOI> should revise EV privileges for car and auto parts makers to make production more attractive.”

He further added that the ministry of National New Generation Vehicle Committee will help in accelerating the quality of EVs. They will also provide the locals with guidelines for industry development. A major focus of the EV plan is to promote the recycling of materials and establish a systematic vehicle management mechanism.

Furthermore, the government is also working to prepare an EV charging infrastructure around the country. As per the news, three major players of the country will help the government in building the infrastructure namely, PTT Plc, a state-owned oil and gas company, and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. 

The Thai Board of Investment (BOI) will also work for providing promotional privileges in the process of development. According to Jatusripitak. "Charging stations should be within a radius of 200 kilometers from one another”.

Coming to the major investors in the reformation of the EV plan, the Thai government has attracted around 20-30 applications that were from major vehicle manufacturers. The BOI has also approved applications from Mercedes-Benz, Mine Mobility, SAIC Motor, Toyota, Skywell, and FOMM for BEV production. 

The hybrid vehicle producers include Mazda, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. The other key players for plug-in hybrid vehicle production are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Mitsubishi, SAIC Motor, and Toyota. 

The investors in this plan will be benefitted from reduced import costs and corporate income tax exemption. Interestingly, the key automakers are all set to accelerate production in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regions. 

Lastly, the government will also encourage its residents to exchange their vehicles with these new offerings to encourage electrification.

Also read: Volkswagen commences production of ID.4 all-electric SUV