Gweiloman

I don’t see prices coming back down to the 20 baht price point anytime soon. When we bought our Mazda 2 5-6 yrs ago, E20 was around 16 baht. Now it’s the same price as 91. With the current mileage that I do, with good sunshine (guaranteed in Thailand) and a TOU meter (promised for next week but who knows), whatever “premium “ I might have paid for my PHEV will be recovered in no time.

Excellent post, hits the nail right on the head. Except for that part about the MX-30. Isn’t this the worst EV ever? That’s my impression from multiple reviews. On another note, how difficult is it to remove car emblems. Looking on YouTube, all one needs is a heat gun or hair dryer and a piece of fishing line.

Different circumstances. In Thailand, petrol is around 35-36 baht per litre. In Malaysia, Ron 95 is about 14-15 baht. That negates one of the main reasons for owning an EV in Malaysia. Compared to Thailand, a lot more of rich folks live in premium condominiums whereas in Thailand, rich folk prefer landed properties. Charging in condos are a bit more of a challenge. For interstate travel, there are proper tollways and places to stop for either gas or food or toilet breaks are less frequent. Setting up,an efficient and effective charging network would be much more challenging. In Singapore where the majority of the population lives in flats and apartments, living with an EV seems to be quite easy due to an excellent network of charging stations. Indonesia is a disaster when it comes to transportation and the electric grid leaves a lot to be desired. So all in all, Thailand’s the best country in SEA to own and EV.

Good for you. Stick with your ICE vehicles if resale value is important to you. Owners of high end premium vehicles such as Porsche, MB, BMW are also not particularly concerned about resale value, else they won’t have purchased one. I believe many EV owners feel the same. I have no issue writing off 800k baht after 10 years after enjoying the smooth and comfortable ride of an EV.

EV owners will recommend EVs, ICE owners will recommend ICEs for obvious reasons. Final choice depends on your circumstances and needs. If you live in a condo and can’t charge at home, I would not encourage purchasing an EV. If you do lots of long distance driving, say in excess of 500 kms per stretch, I would not encourage purchasing an EV. Consider a PHEV like the Haval H6 instead. Most pertinent, if you are doing the daily school run, please, please do not purchase a diesel. I think the reasons should be obvious.

It’s a shame that a once esteemed and respected organisation like the FT has also succumbed and fallen to the depths of tabloid publications. Using words like endured military service. I remember not so long ago when Japan was rising, employees had to line up in an open field and perform group callisthenics under the hot sun before their shift started. As to who inspired the Chairman, the article doesn’t make it clear. Chairman Mao perhaps. I’m sure it’s not Adolf. I’m also sure that the likes of Caesar, Montgomery, Patten and Rommel has inspired lots of people through the ages.

Are you sure GWM is a state owned business? According to Wikipedia, they are a privately owned company. I would be very happy if it was the former as that would mean continuous investment in R&D and financial support. Yes, there are many who believe in the western MSM propaganda about genocide and organ harvesting and make their purchasing decisions based on these views. I prefer to do my own research and don’t support any businesses that contribute to the MIC.

My personal favourite is Elexa which are 125 kWh chargers (even though my PHEV can only take 47 max). Only downside with Elexa is no off peak rates and the PT stations are rather pathetic

Bangkok is not all of Thailand. The majority of Thais live outside of Bangkok. Most Thais that I know who owns a vehicle live in landed properties. When I was living in a condo in Bkk, I had a designated parking spot for my vehicle. I do not know if the condo management would have allowed the installation of a wall charger like many condos in Malaysia do. But I never drove to work due the the bad traffic situation. I either took the MRT of motorbike taxi or rode my own bike. Now as a foreign retiree in CM, I average about 70-80 km per day, chauffeuring my wife to various job sites. My PHEV is working out so good for this that I have booked a full EV to be delivered hopefully end August.

A piece of unsolicited advice. If your condo does not have charging facility, don’t buy an EV. Having said that, I went to charge my EV at One Nimman the other evening. I had about 30% charge remaining so I thought excellent, I will get something to ear as well. Sadly I didn’t even have enough time to decide on what and where to eat before I had to hurry back to my car as my battery was almost fully charged in less than 30 mins.

I’m currently saving about Thb 1,500 - 2,000 a month by not having to fill my car with fuel. I also have no intention to sell as I normally don’t bother selling my vehicles.

Hardly surprising. It doesn’t have a record on making good on its promises.

I did a bit of motorkhana in my uni days. I drilled a hole in my handbrake handle and stuck a screw through it in order to prevent the spring from automatically engaging the handbrake when I had to jerk on it. Those who used to do handbrake turns will know what I mean.

I love watching The Mac Master’s videos. I’m a subscriber to his channel. However, his videos are rather misleading and he intentionally does things to paint EVs in a negative light. For eg, he insists on charging his Taycan to 100% knowing full well that it will make his journey longer as opposed to doing it the more efficient way and he then stresses how much longer the journey took as opposed to an ICE. With regards to how much he “lost” (on paper), a Porsche Taycan is hardly representative of a normal EV. Premium cars depreciate much faster than normal family cars. Any motor vehicle owner knows that. I should also point out that he actually loves driving his EV. His main gripe is with the charging infrastructure in the UK and the current high prices of electricity, thanks to the policies of the collective west. For the majority of EV and potential EV owners in Thailand, I would argue that purchasing an EV is the more cost effective option.

EV Station Plus (PTT) has increased off peak price to 5.5 baht/kWh. Coupled with the stupid reservation system and maximum charge time of 55 mins per session, you won’t find me charging at PTT any time soon

In my opinion, it’s not about intelligence gathering at all. China has all the intelligence they need about the US. It’s about showing the US that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.. It’s about China telling the US that it is not afraid and will not be bullied. It’s about telling the US that if it continues to arm Taiwan, then China will arm Cuba. About b****y time, if you ask me. US hegemony is on the decline. Everyone knows this, except for the ‘Muricans.

A very moot and interesting point. Ron 95 in Malaysia is approximately Thb14 per litre. However, a foreign registered vehicle is not allowed to fuel up with this. It can only be fuelled up with Ron 97 which is approximately Thb25 per litre. Having said that, I have always been able to fuel up with the cheaper Ron 95 (don’t ask). Petrol is heavily subsidised in Malaysia. Thus take up of EVs has been slow and the charging network is nowhere comparable to Thailand. I don’t see petrol prices coming down in Thailand anytime soon and those for whom an EV is practical (ie home charging capable. Infrequent long trips) having an EV is a no brainer.

That’s right. The Chinese built the Great Wall to keep the Mongols out. They had no intention to invade Mongolia. To the best of my knowledge, other than border issues, China never invaded any country far from its borders. The only Chinese invasion that I know of was the Sino-Vietnamese war but that was in response to Vietnam’s invasion and occupation of Cambodia. Even then, China withdrew its troops once its objective was achieved, within about a month, if memory serves. This is unlike US occupation of Afghanistan of 20 years, occupation of Iraq, Syria… one gets the idea. A country with a history of peace and one with a history of war. The latter sails its warships and flies its warplanes thousands of kilometres from its shores. Yet it claims the other is a global threat. Hilarious really.

100% agree. I have a PHEV In which I’ve made two trips to Malaysia (total mileage 10k km) in the last 4 months. No issues whatsoever. Fast charge when I can, slow charge at destination and petrol in between. Put down a deposit already on the standard range Dolphin but will probably upgrade to the extended range.

The penny dropped, finally. It has been said countless times that EVs are not for everyone, especially those who drive long distances regularly or are unable to charge at home. It took a while but looks like you finally understood what many have been trying to explain to you.

Exactly. No different from what the US has been doing for decades.

A PHEV with a range of only 30-40 miles? Thanks but no thanks. Mine does 100 miles easily.

0-100 km in around 7 seconds is plenty fast enough for me. When I feel the need for speed, I hop onto one of my two 1 litre bikes which can easily exceed 200kmh.

I do a lot of work outside at other people’s houses and when the weather is hot like it is now, being able to operate a fan is a godsend. That’s one of the main reasons I discounted the Ora Cat from my list.