Pib

Apparently Mr Toyota's stuffed envelope only funded 2 days of EV misinformation with Nikkei Asia.

I will add that maybe the PEA/Bangkok Post is talking a "TOU" meter for a 2nd meter (but the article does not say that) but would still install a 2nd regular meter with associated non-TOU rates. I could easily see where upgrading a current primarily meter and associated building wiring could be very expensive sometimes in comparison to installing a 2nd meter/wiring...each facility will be different. Now what I can't understand right now is why PEA would not allow installation of a 2nd "regular" meter (i.e., non-TOU meter & rates) because then TOU rates could not be abused based on whatever PEA considers abuse of TOU rates. Hopefully there will be more clarification forthcoming on the PEA policy change.

There is an article in the 27 July 2024 Bangkok Post titled, EV owners upset as second-meter system scrapped, which basically says PEA will no longer allow the installation of a 2nd meter in a home/small business for EV vehicle charging. The article said the policy change is due to misuse of 2nd meter. Now this means a person would need to possibly upgrade their primary meter and assoicated wiring to also handle the extra EV load which could be much more expensive than having a 2nd meter and associated wiring installed. People who currently who have already requested a 2nd meter or have a 2nd meter installed are not affected although PEA said they reserve the right to take necessary action if misuse is identified. I wonder if MEA will follow suit? I also have a gut feeling PEA will soon have to back-peddle on their decision.

Yes...it does....thanks. But you answer raised another question and that is: can you reigister twice? I haven't registered yet, but I'm assuming when a person registers there is some key piece of registration that would prevent a person from registering twice. Like maybe a person's passport number, phone number, etc. UNLESS maybe once registered and you can enter the system to begin online training it offers a car test and then a separate motorcyle test? When you pass one and get a QR code you can then do the other and get a different QR code?

Bangkok Bank website says, Yes, you can. See below partial quote from the bank's booklet giving full details. https://www.bangkokbank.com/-/media/files/personal/other-services/branch-services/international-branches/fcd_expat.pdf

I can't speak from personal experience with Kaishorn Bank as I don't have an acct with them....but I've always heard they are a good bank....many expats talk postively of them. I've been with Bangkok Bank for around two decades (started before my LTR visa)....no problems....good bank. I also have a Krungsri Bank acct for half dozen or more years (also opened before LTR)...once again, no problems...good bank. So those two banks are the only two I can speak to from personal experience/having accts at these banks for many years. Why not just open accts with both Bangkok Bank and K-bank since they smile upon LTR visa holders? Having multiple accts at different banks also increases your Thai baht savings deposit govt insurance coverage in case a bank goes belly-up.

Here are the details on the assistance provided for the two banks involved with the the LTR program which are Bangkok Bank and K-bank. And actually, if going with K-bank no BOI assistance is needed...just provide K-bank the docs identified in the BOI weblink. Now if going with Bankgok Bank, then yes, the weblink indicates BOI needs to know 4 days in advance (this would sure be business/work days) in order to pre-coord with Bankgok Bank. https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/opening-bank-account-in-thailand.html Typically to open a Thai bank acct only a Bt500 opening deposit is required for a typical savings acct....that's not a fee, just the mininum amount to open an acct. After opening the acct you could withdraw the opening deposit if desired. Other types of accts like a Foreiegn Currency Deposit Acct, Fixed Savings Acct, etc., maybe more. But I do not recommend carrying a zero balance. Most Thai bank follow an account activity rule that if there is no acct owner activity (i.e., deposit, withdrawal, transfer) after 12 months "if", repeat, if the balance is below "Bt2K: then they start charging a Bt50/month acct maintenance fee until the acct reaches zero balance and then the acct is closed. Best to keep a balance north of Bt2K if you don't plan to use the acct that often like going back to the home country for a year or more...and when deciding on a balance to keep be sure to take in acct the annual debit card fee which is deduced automatically from the acct on each anniversary, Shouldn't be any monthly fees for a typical savings acct and most any acct. Now the bank will surely try to get you to sign-up for one of their pricey annual fee debit cards/insurance which offer accident insurance and other stuff you'll probably never be able to use. I recommend you decline there pricy stuff (it "not" required to open an acct) and just go with the basic "Mastercard or UnionPay" debit card which has an annual fee in the Bt300-400 ballpark. Some people will say don't even get a physical debit card....just use cardless withdrawal....but the problem with cardless withdrawal you typically can only do that at the ATM of the bank the acct is with...and when you need money from an ATM the only ATM available may be another bank...you know wish you had a phyical card.

Link to full new article and partail quote below. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Honda-to-cut-China-production-capacity-for-gas-cars-by-30 Honda to cut China production capacity for gas cars by 30% Japanese automakers had expanded their presence in China since the 2000s, working with local partners at the behest of the government, which sought to build up the country's auto industry. Japanese players held a combined 20% share of the market at their 2020 peak, thanks partly to a reputation for quality. But their strength in internal combustion engine cars has not helped them keep pace with China's government-led pivot to electric vehicles or compete on price with local rivals. Honda's sales slumped roughly 40% by volume on the year in June. China remains a crucial auto market. Japanese automakers will try to mount a comeback by cutting costs while improving their ability to meet demand for EVs and plug-in hybrids.

I"m surprised they are trying to sell 2022 produciton year models as "new" cars...but hey, they never been sold for the first time so technically they are brand new but just made a couple years earlier.

Apparently these are 2022 models....two year old models....partial quote from the ad below: Clearance Sale, up to 250,000 baht discount for MG ZS EV, 100% electric car, 2022 production year, remaining 699,000 - 799,000 baht, only some dealers left.

But, but, but Toyota said back in early 2023 they must respond quickly wiht a sense of crisis to the soaring popularity of electric vehicles. Maybe he was talking at the speed of a turtle? https://www.nationthailand.com/business/automobile/40026882

@KhunLA Below are a couple of snapshots of the voltage levels reported for my Atto by the Bluetooth Monitor I have installed on the 12V battery....the monitor has a voltage measurement accuracy of +/- 0.03V. - the half volt voltage dip a little after midnight is just the EV during some type of diagnostic it does each and every night sometimes between midnight and 0600hrs..predominately between 0200 and 0400hrs. Maybe talking to the BYD mothership...maybe doing some kind of diagnostic....I really don't know what it's doing in the middle of the night. - at 1127hrs the wife and I go on a shopping run and the 12V charging begins....charging voltage is around 13.73V as shown by the blue vertical line....just before starting the EV the voltage was 12.77V. I doubt there was any "surface charge." - at around 1227hr you see a 1V dip for a few minutes...this is when I parked/turned off the EV and went into the mall for about an hour. BUT NOTICE the voltage jumps back up to around 13.7V...and that's because the EV decided it wants to continue charging the !2V even with the EV turned off. This is very common. - at around 1330hrs we finish the mall trip and start the EV...since the EV was already charging it just continues since we started the EV...you will notce a very small decline of less than 0.1V when I started the EV until 1400hrs when there is a small increase of around a 0.1V...the small 0.1V inceased is due to me parking the car/turned it off at home. - BUT NOTICE the voltage never dropped back down to below 13V as the EV continued charge even with the EV turned off...it continued to charge for two more hours. Once again, no uncommon based on my BT monitor tracking. - At 1600hrs it stops charging and voltage drops to 12.85V for 10 minutes...then increases to almost 13V for 20 minutes (remember the car is turned off)...and then there is a 1V voltage dip for a very brief period (seconds to maybe a 2 minutes) probably caused the EV finally going to sleep...finally going into full standby...and then the battery natually regains voltage back to a little over 12.9V. See the 2nd snapshot below for a close up of the charging/driving period of time. Once again, this is very common....just part of the Atto's charging profile. Yeap...EVs not only charge while while the car is turned on but might also continue to charge when the car is turned off. Different from an ICEV which only charges with the motor is running/alternator spinning. 1st Stapshot: Bluetooth Battery Monitor Snapshot...24 hour chart...one hour increments....from midnight to 7pm on 23 July for my Atto EV. 2nd snaphot: zoomed-in view of above chart of the charging/driving period of time.

@KhunLA Thanks for the feedback. I take it you didn't get a chance to make a measurement right at the 12V battery terminals with a digitial voltmeter to see if the multimeter agrees with your EV voltmeter? Based on your snapshots and describtion (especially when the EV is turned off) I think your EV voltmeter "could possibly" be reading high by around 0.3 to 0.4V. I say this based on the 13.3V reading you get when the car is turned off/not charging the 12V battery. It should be around 12.9 to 13.0V "unless", repeat unless when your car is turned off there is partically no drain still occurring on your 12V....like all of the electronics merely didn't go into standby mode but power was completely cut. When a 12V battery is charged to 100% after the charging stops a 12V flooded lead acid battery will have a "surface charge" of around 0.3V....that is, instead of reading around 12.6 to 12.9V it would be a little over 13V "if there was no drain on the battery and the battery was still it good shape. But if there was some current drain (small amount) that surface charge (which has very, very capacity) will drain off fairly quick...within seconds to a few minutes....but it depends on how large the drain is. After this surface charge is disapated then you will be reading the true voltage/charge level of the battery. When doing battery tests with a capacity/load meter they usually say be sure the 12V battery is first fully charged "and then turn on the headlights for 15 seconds or so to disapate any surface charge" in order to get a better capacity/load measurement. You might want to use a digitial voltmeter to make a measurement right at the battery terminals when the car is turn on and charging the 12V battery (i.e., that 14.1V level) and when the car is turned off/not charging the 12V battery (i.e., that 13.3V level). Now if the car built-in voltmeter does turn out to be reading a little high...let's say 0.3V just for discussion purposes....then a 13.8V charging level is actually better than a 14.1V level because 14.1V because when the 12V battery temp reaches say 40C (which is will easily do) it has already exceeded it's "gassing" voltage level of a hair less than 14V. But exceeding by such a small amount with a maniteance free/sealed battery (i..e, no can add water) all the gassing effect should be recaptured within the battery. But it's not a good thing to be exceeding the "gassing" voltage level all the time/for long periods (like hours and hours) as it can shorten the lifespan of the battery. Cheers

yea...brain wanted to type barter but fingers decided to go with batter.

yea...understand expeically for an EV where a starter is not being used which would draw hundreds of amps for around a second. But even with an EV during that initial start where the high power traction battery relays are being engaged along with EV electonics fully powering-up, electric A/C powering up, etc., will draw around 30 amps (or more) briefly based on what I've seen for my Atto EV. That initial start is where the highest current draw will occur which may result in a higher charging voltage than compared to x-amount of minutes later after that current draw was replenished. And of course the charging voltage might change very little (but the charging current/amps cokuld) depending on how the DC to DC convertor manages it's Constant Voltage/Constant Current charging profile. To measure the current change then we get into the area of using a clamp-on amp meter which the typical person will not have nor would attempt to use....but they may have a low cost digitial voltmeter to do an easy voltage measurement.

Looking at the Thailand DLT registration stats for Jan-Jun 2024 four Nissan Leaf's have been been registered (one each in Feb, Mar, Apr, and May....zero in Jan and Jun). With a sales/regristration record like that plus a car having "cruise control" there is absolutely no reason to drop the price!!! If Nissan follows the Toyota mentally they may never lower the price to sell off whatever Leaf stock they have in Thailand. Kinda like how the Toyota BZ4X EV which had very, very limited sales in 2023 but in Jan 2024 the DLT registration stats showed 66 being registered in Jan 2024. Since then no registrations. The Jan 2024 regristrations was probably doing some creative accounting for tax write-off purposes, maybe a wholesale for all remaining Thailand BZ4X stock to some overseas buyer, maybe selling/transferring them to their used car Toyota Sure division, etc.

I use credit cards, QR code payment, PromptPay payment, online banking, etc., as much as I can....cash payments are pretty much limited to small shops/markets where "cashless" payment hasn't caught on yet. Now I hope it don't occur but if the day comes when we have wide spread war and part of that warfare is "cyber warfare" which pertty much takes down the internet, online banking, communications, etc., being able to pay with cash is going to be pretty much the only way to buy what you need. Well, unless maybe you are super sexy and can batter your body. 😄😉😁

Hope the problem is fixed permanently. Out of courtesy now that your charging voltage is back to being stable what voltage reading do you get on the car's voltage meter say 15 seconds after starting the car "and" driving the car after approx 15 minutes? And if you have a handheld digital mutlimeter does a reading made with that multimeter "right on the battery terminals" agree with the car's voltage meter say plus or minus two tenths of volt?

I have swore off "plug repair" as the video depicts except for a emergency/temporary repair (the video even mentions he doing a temporary repiar until he can get a proper repair done). I now only have a "hot patch/steam patch" done which is a patch made to the inside of the tire with a patch & glue using a "hot" press...basically a rubber patch is vulcanized over the puncture....takes about 15-20 minutes to complete after the tire is removed from the rim. Plug repairs are usually fine if glue is used with the sticky plug but I have seen with my own eyes tire technicans who do not use the glue and only use the sticky material plug. The glue is not so important to hold the plug in the tire but to make a better air tight seal between the plug material and tire. Without an air tight seal you can end up with a "very slow" air leak that can vary as the tire rolls, how its parked, etc...AND can often be very hard to find. The final straw to make me swear off use of tire plugs except when I have to for a short period is when I had a very slow leak on one of my Toyota Fortuner tires. The tire had two plugs in it...both plugs done at a PTT FIT shop....FIT only does tire repair using plugs; not hot patches which takes more work and significantly longer like around a half hour to do a hot patch repair. Anyway, I kept losing air from the tire "slowly"...sometimes it would lose just a few PSI over several weeks (the other three tires would not lose any air or maybe just a few tenths of pound which is natural loss).....and other times it would lose around 5 PSI in just a few days. I took the car back to PTT FIT "twice" for them to find the slow leak. Before taking the tire I had done a lot of spraying soapy water on the tire, rim, valve, and plugs in trying to find the leak...no leak found.. So I take the tire to PTT FIT. On the first visit to PTT they sprayed soapy water all over the tire and rim and also focused on the plugs and valve....no leak could be found as I watched every second of their inspection. They did replace one of the two plugs just to play it safe because the tech and I "thought" we saw a single air bubble coming from it, but only saw it once. I did ask them about doing a hot patch repair and they said they do not do them (probably due to the time and effort required in comparison to a quick & easy plug repair)...and even said a hot patch repair would be better. Within a few weeks the tire has loss a lot of air again. I do the soapy water thing again before going back to PTT...once again, no leak to be found. I take the car back to PTT. This time they remove the wheel and place it in tub of water where the entire wheel (tire and rim) can be completely submergeed under water. For 20 minutes the tire is held under water....not even one tiny air bubble appears. Wheel is put back on the car. FIT probably thinks someone is messing with me by letting air out of the tire when I'm not around. Well, the slow leak continues...and it's intermittent...sometimes the leak is slow and other times it "very" slow while the other three tires do not leak. This time I take the car to a little tire shop that does "hot patch" repairs....also called "stream patch" where the tire is removed from the rim and a patch is applied to the inside of the tire to seal the puncture (assuming you can find the hole/puncture when it's tiny). I'm still suspecting the problem is a very slow and intermittent leak from one of the plugs. The mechanic could not find any leak using soapy watch and then removed the wheel to do a submerged in a water tank test. When submerged initially no leak could be found....then he starts hitting the rubber tire with a hammer and after a few minutes of looking a few bubbles could be seen coming from one of the plug repairs....and you could hit the plug with a hammer and the bubbles would stop...hit the plug again and a few air bubbles would start to appear. Basically as the tire would roll down the road or depending on how the tire may be stressed when parked an air leak could occur....or maybe not occur....basically an intermittent leak. And I expect road temperature probably had an effect also. The shop replaced both plugs with hot patches and no more air leak....been almost a year now...no leak. Yeap, while some people may have 100% success with using plug repairs as shown in the video, plug repairs are prone to "slowly" leak depending on the hole/puncture it's attempting to make air tight again. Best to get a hot/steam patch repair done as soon as you can. Typcially costs approx Bt150-250 here in the Bangkok area and only typically done at small tire repair shops versus big shops like PTT FIT, B-Quck, etc., that typically do not do hot patch repairs due to the time & effort required in comparison to a pretty quick & easy plug repair when the tire is removed from the car. Doing a plug repair "on a car" that has good ground clearance like a full size SUV or pickup truck can also be done without too much effort but on a vehicle with lower ground clearance it gets much more challenging.

At bottom is a nice article talking Toyota charging voltage levels....how their system works...and really other manufacturers system follow the same general guidelines when charging a "lead-acid" battery because whether a lead acid battery is in an EV or ICEV it's still a lead-acid battery and it expects to be charged a certain way. Partial quote and full article weblink at bottom. A key thing to note here and I didn't mention before is vehicle charging systems made over the last few decades also do a much, much better job of taking into account "underhood" ambient temperatures. Higher the temperature the lower the charging voltage. Now this does not mean a temperature sensor is located right on the 12V battery (it may or may not have one), but just other temperature sensors used on the underhood drive components telling the various ECUs how hot or cold the engine compartment is, engine coolant, air intake temperature, etc. Since we are driving around in a tropical environment in Thailand the "underhood battery temperature" is going reach a very warm level which will cause a lower charging voltage level than the cars of numerous decades ago which used dumb regulators vs today's smart ECUs (electronic control units). This assumes your battery is located under the hood/bonnet versus inside the cooled cabin or trunk. In an "ICEV" the underhood battery temperature is generally going to oscillate in the 50C (122F) to 60C (140F) ballpark (or at least my Fortuner does)...and on the really hot Thailand days during some months such as Mar-May it might approach 70C (158F) or more depending on the battery location under the hood, driving conditions, etc. Now your engine coolant temperate is running hotter....I'm talking about the air in the engine compartment area where the battery usually lives which is being heated-up by the hot engine. Now for EV underhood battery temperature it's signifantly lower than an ICEV since the EV does not use a combustion engine that acts like a pot-belly stove by putting off a lot of heat. An EV electric motor operates at a much lower temp than a combusion engine...underhood battery temp is generally going to be appox 15C ( approx 60F) "cooler" than an ICEV in a hot environment like Thailand...the EV battery underhood air temp in Thailand is will be operating in the 35C to 45C (95F to 113F) ballpark Now my 1966 and 1968 Chevelles and 1984 Pontiac Firebird charging circuits which just consisted of a pretty dumb voltage regulator charged at a higher voltage level than my much more modern 2009 Fortuner ICEV and 2023 BYD EV that use smart ECUs to better control charging....smart ECUs generally using a lower charging voltage although this may extend charging time it better for the battery life. A lead acid battery life that may still fall quite short in a tropical environment when compared to a cold/cooler enviroment whether you are driving an EV or ICEV. https://www.tomorrowstechnician.com/toyota-charging-system-diagnostics/ Voltage Testing Most Toyota charging systems integrate their voltage regulators into the alternator assembly. While charging voltage specifications vary according to application, the voltage regulator generally adjusts battery-charging voltage according to ambient air temperature. For example, at 70° F, the voltage regulator charges the battery at approximately 14.2 volts. As underhood or ambient temperatures increase, the charging voltage is reduced to about 13.8 volts or less to prevent boiling the water from the battery electrolyte. During cold weather, charging voltage can increase into the 15-volt range to compensate for reduced chemical activity in the battery in sub-freezing temperatures. In any case, consult your service data before assuming that an apparently low or high charging voltage is incorrect for the system in question.

Here's some snapshots of the charging voltage levels for my 2009 Toyota Fortuner Diesel 3.0L and my 2023 Atto 3 EV using Bluetooth battery monitors with a +/- 0.03V accuracy...and accuracy confimed by comparing BT monitor measurements to a high accurancy digitial voltmater which has a +/- 0.01V accuracy. Both use 12V flooded lead acid batteries. The 1st snapshot is for my Atto 3 EV...a 24 hour time scale. The voltage dip at around 0530 is just the EV doing some type of check for a very brief period....happens every night in the 0300hrs to 0600hrs ballpark. The voltage rise to approx 13.73V starting around 1215hrs as the wife and I make a groceries run to Big C which only takes us approx 15 minutes to get to Big C but when turning the EV off at 1230hrs the charging voltage continues at 12.79V. It's not uncommon for the charging of the 12V battery to continue for maybe for a few minutes maybe an hour or more (or sometimes the charging stops)...all depends on the EV DC to DC convertor charging circuit. As mentioned when turning off the EV the charging continues in this case but at a slightly highly voltage of 13.79V. It continues to charge at 13.79V until 1341hrs when we start the car to leave Big C and the charging voltage continues but at a slight lower level of around 13.7V. A little after 1300hr we arrive our next shopping location and turn off the car, but this time the charging does not continue....the battery voltage drops to around 12.5V and then slowly and naturally recovers to around 12.6V. Then I start the car again and the charging voltage goes up to 13.73V and then arriving home around 1430hrs and turning the car off the charging does not continue and the voltage drops down to around 12.6V before naturally recoverying to around 12.7V over 10 to 15 minutes. Below voltage charging chart is typical of my daily Atto 3 driving. While having the BT monitor on the Atto 3 for over 30 days now I have never seen a charging voltage over 13.8V nor lower than 13.6V....normally it charging at 13.7V give or take a few hundreths of a volt. Now this 2nd snapshot is for my 2009 Toyota Fortuner ICEV Diesel 3.0L. Last drove it two days ago after it had been setting idle for approx 3 weeks. The wife and I was out and about for around 5hrs from 1230hrs to to 1730hrs....made numerous stops where the car was turned off which means no charging unlike an EV which might decide to continue charging when turned off. At no time did the charging voltage exceed 13.84V. And over the many years I've owned the Fortuner, which includes the original alternator and a new alternator currently on the car the charging has never exceeded 14.0V...and the great majority of the time it's charging at 13.7V give or take two tenths of a volt (i.e., 13.5 to 13.9V).

"Most" cars stopped charging at a 14.4V rate many years ago although many, many websites still talk check your charging circuit to ensure it's puttiong out around 14 to 14.4V. Nowdays a charging voltage of approx 13.6 to 14V is used as it better for battery life. When lead 12V lead acid battery charges at a voltage level of approx 14.2V to 14.V or higher it starts boiling/vaporizing the electrolyte....basically that voltage level is in the" "Equalization" area of a charging profile....Equalization should "not" occur frequently...and only for short periods. My 2009 Toyota Fortuner will charge a maximum of 14V if the battery was mostly discharged....then once gaining most of its charge back it charges in the 13.6 to 14V ballpark...and mostly in the 13.6 to 13.7V ballpark. The Toyota manual even shows a max charge voltage of 14.0V. I did tons of voltage charging/voltage measurements over the years on my Forturner since the 12V lead acid battery typically lasted around 2 to 3 years....sometimes less than 18 months. These charging voltage measurements done at the Toyota dealership (to include the time they changed th the alternator with built-in regulator) and mostly by my high accuracy digital voltmeters and BlueTooth battery monitor (voltage measurement accuracy of +/- 0.03V. My 2023 Atto wiht 12V lead acid battery charges at a rate of 13.6 to 13.8V....but mostly real close to 13.7V. Ditto on using high accuracy voltmeters and BlueTooth monitor on the battery.. Basically the same charging profile as my 2009 Toyota Fortuner (15 years older than my Atto) which is a charge rate in the 13.6 to maximum of 14.0V.

They may say they are designed to miminic a 12V lead acid battery but if the charging circuit on an EV is designed for a 12V lead acid type battery (which will be the case if the EV came with a lead acid battery) that charging circuit will charge in the 13.6 to 13.8V ballpark....below the approx 14.4V needed to fully charge a 12V lithium type battery....the lithium battery will end up charging to approx 80% of capacity.

I'm sure you are aware the charging profile/100% charged level for a 12V flooded lead acid, 12V absorbed glass mat (AGM) , and 12V lithium type battery are different. And of course when saying 12V battery it means "nominal" 12V as the actuall voltage when 100% charged for a flooded 12V battery is approx 12.7V, AGM 13.0V, and lithium 14.4V. See below chart that gives an overview of various voltage levels. Additionally, there are different types of AGM batteries---some designed for high Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA) needed to start ICEV....some designed for deep cycle operation where the CCA is lower but can be cycled deeply like for longer running time and running electrical applicance, a boat electric motor, etc. If going the AGM route just be sure to get one geared for starting vehicles if used on an ICEV....but since you are looking at a replacement battery for you EV where high cranking power is not needed a deep cycle AGM should be better than a high CCA AGM battery....but either AGM type should be fine for an EV....and better than a flooded 12V battery....howevver, an AGM will cost more than a flooded battery. The charging profile (i.e.., Constant Voltage/Constant Current profile) for a 12V flooded and AGM are different but only by a little bit. Switching from a flooded 12V battery to AGM 12V battery is commonly done on vehicles since the charging profile is similar. But if using a lithium type battery it will never get fully charged to 100% if the EV's DC-DC convertor circuit which charges the 12V battery is set for a lead acid type battery.....geared to fully charge to a voltage "less" than what a lithium type battery needs. You could install a lithium type battery and your EV which is programmed to charge a 12V lead acid type battery and therefore the lithium type battery would never be fully charged. Just switching from a lead acid type battery to a lithium type battery does not automatically mean it's a good idea...will result in longer battery life...will result in more Amp-Hour running time UNLESS the charging circuit/profile is also designed for the battery type being used. https://www.renogy.com/blog/expectations-vs-reality-making-sense-of-battery-voltage-percentages/

Wow....this is a big change...hopefully BYD and others will follow suit for old and new customers in order to remain competitive. Such a warranty would definitely wipe-out a major reason some people are reluctant to buy an EV. Below is another web article talking the MG change. https://www.mgcars.com/en/NewsActivities/Detail/MG-Lifetime-Battery-Warranty