Gweiloman

64GB is a huge number of songs if your thumb drive is full. I’m not sure what the car onboard storage is but you can also upload your songs onto a local folder and play it from there. When cycling through the different play modes, there is a local option. I always wondered what that option meant but I think it is for this exact purpose ie uploading your personal stuff onto the car infotainment system.

Previously, I never came across price reductions except when dealers are making for new models. The EV industry is newish, dealers are maybe trying new tactics. I still think they are seeing the market prefers bigger battery packs and the smaller ones are not moving out the door as quickly so maybe they are trying to rebalance their stocks. If you notice, MG’s reductions are only for the smaller packs. Similarly for the Seal.

What’s the rate at these chargers? Are there on and off peak rates?

What’s with all these price drops? I’m sure it’s not due to lack of demand for EVs. My feeling is that the lower ends ie smaller battery packs aren’t as popular as the larger packs and so they are trying to clear inventory. Or possibly making way for new models? I would be cheesed off if BYD drops the price of the extended Dolphin, just a few months after I bought one lol

Unique problem you have there :). I’m usually listening to either Spotify (app built in) or YT Music or listening to YT. Both these apps are sideloaded onto the Android OS which powers the infotainment system. Couldnt you blue tooth to your phone to listen to your playlists on it?

I hate to correct you but you misquoted me. I said it’s the capacity that is over 50%, not the actual generation. I said in my post that the majority is still being generated by fossil fuels. Renewables are generating, if I’m not mistaken, about 25-26% currently. I’m not a Green, I don’t believe that saving the planet is up to me. If by my actions, it helps a little, great. I do think that renewables alone will never ever be sufficient. It is but one piece of the solution. Who knows what new technology is around the corner? Some of the advancements today would have been unthinkable a couple of decades ago.

If only the 2019 riots in HKG could have been explained so simplistically as you have posted. It started based in part on the proposed extradition law to close a loophole that till today, allows a self confessed murderer to continue to roam the streets of HKG. One western country, no need to say who, exploited the situation to try and cause further chaos. I have family that’s living and working in HKG for the last 25 years. Yes, things have changed but is nowhere near as draconian as you make out.

While it seems true that the majority of electricity in China is generated by fossil fuels, I read a report stating that renewables capacity already accounts for more than 50%. Of course this refers to ideal conditions but I’m in no doubt that sooner rather than later, the majority of electricity generated in China will be by renewables. The question is whether other countries are as committed. I’m not surprised that the rate of sales have declined in some countries for reasons mentioned earlier. I believe that in Thailand, this is not the case.

Which immigration office was this?

Maybe in the early days, when the rest benefits of owning an EV were not fully known, the early adopters cited saving the planet as one of the reasons for buying an EV. Today however, no one cites this as the reason. Fact remains however that EVs are less polluting than ICEs when driven in cities and urban areas, not to mention a more pleasant environment with less engine roars. As regards to EV sales, reports I have read about sales in the UK is that whilst personal sales have fallen, fleet sales have increased. People there are preferring to lease their vehicles as opposed to owning them outright. Schemes such as salary sacrifice and notated leases means that it’s financially better to lease than to own. Electricity prices in the UK has shot up significantly in the past few years. Don’t know the reason except possibly due to the Ukraine war? Expensive electricity takes away one of the major benefits of owning an EV. In Thailand, the situation is (currently) very different. Electricity is a fraction of petrol prices. Amount of sunlight hours makes solar a good investment even just for the house. Being able to charge an EV with any extra production is a bonus. It’s important to consider only relevant factors when making a decision.

Please share some experiences. Would genuinely like to hear from all sides.

Yes, without doubt, there are instances where there is absolutely nothing you can do like when you are stopped at the lights and someone rear ends you. But these are very rare events when you consider how many cars are stopped at a traffic light at any given moment in time. This is another good reason to own an EV. A lot of them come with safety features to apply emergency braking in such situations. Possibly, if that dozy <deleted> had an EV, he/she might not have hit your car.

Yes, the Leaf was probably the first mainstream EV. However its lack of an active cooling BMS has meant that no one buys one anymore. Not sure if it’s still being sold. Nissan’s latest EV offering is the Arriya. I don’t think it’s being sold here in Thailand but the reviews haven’t been that favourable. The popularity of a vehicle can easily be gauged from the amount of YT videos made about it. I’m genuinely interested in your views as to why you think EVs are a ridiculous idea. From your username, I assume you are Swiss (CH). I previously worked for a major Swiss organisation (a world leader in its industry) and know a lot of Swiss. Family even. So, I would give weight to your argument, assuming it’s logical and not biased. Go beyond issues like range, ease of charging, fire risk etc. These have been debated endlessly. I’m interested to know of other issues that you makes you conclude that EVs are a ridiculous idea.

The regulations state very clearly that you should have the required funds in your account, in Thailand, properly seasoned and all. Using an agent to subvert this might be working for now but why take such risks for the little extra money that you might earn from a slightly higher interest rate elsewhere? I can understand it for those folks who don’t have 800k to lock away in a FD but have sufficient income every month for their living expenses. But that’s living dangerously in my view. For those folks that have the money, surely the few extra thousand baht does not make a difference in your lifestyle. If there’s a crackdown (unlikely but not impossible), you might be expelled from Thailand at a moment’s notice. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

The speed at which things are happening in the EV industry is just breathtaking. Excitement abounds at the release of each new model. How is this manufacturer trying to one up the competition? What new feature, gimmick, innovation has this manufacturer come up with? It’s a great time to be in the market for a new car. The problem is making a decision in case the next release offers even better value or more features. The same can’t be said about ICEs. The last “new” technology was Nissan’s e-power or e-force or something like that. Ridiculous concept of using an onboard ICE that burns petrol to produce electricity to charge a small battery to power an electric motor that drives the car. Shows how desperate this legacy manufacturer is to hop onto the EV bandwagon but doesn’t have the know how and capability to produce a good EV. If I could convert my diesel work truck to electric, I would do it in an instance. I would probably recover my investment in a space of 3 to 5 years, assuming a 40 kWh battery costing around 300k baht. I average about 500-600 kms per week and spend at least 1,000 baht per week on petrol, not taking into account engine oil etc etc.

One comment about EV mechanics out in the boondocks. Since I had my PHEV, I’ve had 4 routine services. The first was a 1,000 service done at my dealer in CM. 10,000km done in Hua Hin. 20k done in Hatyai and the most recent 30k (couple of days ago) in Ubon Ratchathani. That’s the GWM network. BYD and MD has even bigger networks across the country. Not many places in Thailand where you would be stranded.

I think that ICE’s are still superior to EVs in term of range on a full tank/charge. In order to eke the full range out of an EV, you have to drive it gingerly whereas with an ICE, increasing the speed from 90 to 120 does not result in such a drastic drop in range. I think this is because an ICE is already inefficient to start with. I think that ICEs are more prone to breakdowns just simply because there are more moving parts and therefore more areas where things can go wrong. An electric motor is a very simple device. Accidents are common place in Thailand but in my opinion, they happen mostly to incompetent and irresponsible drivers. I consider myself a safe and defensive driver, able to identify hazards fairly quickly and take evasive action if necessary. Driven hundreds of thousands of kms in Thailand alone and have not been in any close calls. Furthermore if most of one’s driving is in the city and urban areas, any accident is more likely to be a fender bender than a write-off.

Interesting post. The Chinese government cannot match the West’s sophistication and reach when it comes to propaganda and funding. MSM, NGO’s like NED, think tanks all over the world. In OZ, the ASPI is US financed and advised by retired US generals. The Japanese committed horrendous war crimes during the 2nd WW and yet many westerners think the Chinese are evil even though they (Chinese) were more often than not the victims in many colonial expansions and imperialism. 99% of China haters have never even set foot in China nor do they know how the system of governance works. It’s based on meritocracy and elections, not populism and financing. Such is the power and reach of western propaganda. Someone in a highly sensitive position is probably able to afford more expensive vehicles than the BYD Dolphin or MG. Fitting spying devices and then being able to identify which purchaser could be in possession of sensitive government information seems like an extremely inefficient way of collecting information covertly. Much like saying that Tik Tok is spying on the American public. In any case, bit by bit, the sentiment is changing. My childrens’ generation is much more open minded and travelling the world more and more and seeing for themselves the truth. The aging racists are dying out. China’s BRI is helping millions if not billions of people particularly in impoverished countries in Asia and Africa. China’s goal of multipolarity and common prosperity is resonating with many peoples of the world. No intelligent person seriously believes that China will militarily invade their country. It is very simply not in the DNA of Chinese culture over the past 2,000 years.

No. You can be from Mars for all they car. It’s all down to the car registration. Singapore is a lot worse. If you’re a Singaporean or a PR but caught driving a Malaysian registered car, you would be fined. For example, a Malaysian visits his friend in Singapore and they go out for dinner. The Singaporean is not allowed to drive the Malaysian registered car. The Malaysian has to drive and be directed by either GPS or the Singaporean.

Who is this Malaysian lady and how does she feature in this topic?

So when you say locked, you are not talking about FD’s. You could have been clearer in your post.

Yes you are right. VAC, not VDC. Apologies for my mistake.

Please do not give advice unless you know for sure what you are talking about. I’ve been going my extension every year for the past 15 years using my locked FD.

Are you saying that if my car can run on gasohol 91, putting in gasohol 95 or 95 premium could actually damage my engine?

Malaysians filling up here pay the same price as everyone else. Thais filling up in Malaysia pay the same price as Malaysians. They are just not allowed to fill up with 95 benzene as that’s subsidised by the government and only available for Malaysians. How difficult is that to understand?