Pib

Seems their whole response of "beware the via mail method" was based on using regular mail the whole way vs using EMS to send to Bangkok which will get it to immigration in about 2 or 3 days....and even providing a self-addressed, prepaid EMS return envelope. I guess BOI is assuming too many people ultimately end-up sending by regular mail and the mail goes MIA going or coming. I don't think it has anything to do with BOI's 4 certified agencies to assist in getting LTR visas but it's probably based on some signed, sealed, & delivered agreement between BOI and HQ Immigration regarding how the LTR Visa would be managed to include the 1 year address reporting part which Immigration is probably in the driver's seat regarding how they want to handle that portion since it's an immigration policy/workload. It's just a shame Immigration and BOI have been so, so slow in allowing online reporting for LTR and SMART visas.....SMART visas have now been around for 5 years and the LTR visa well into its 2nd year. While HQ Immigration had this big media unveiling about month ago talking how great the current online address reporting system is and how it has been improved...really nothing has changed about it since the current online address reporting system went online about 2 years ago replacing the previous worst online reporting system. And even if HQ Immigration does improve their current 90 day online address reporting to allow those visas which require 365 day address reporting a person is still going to occasionally run into the problem of the online address report being rejected for some unknown reason just like we currently see happening quite frequently in the AseanNow ongoing 90 day address online reporting system topic. Heck, before I transitioned to an LTR visa and still had a Non-OA visa requiring an address reporting every 90 days I used the current/new online system five times....3 of my 5 submissions were rejected for unspecified reason....I ended-up having to do an in-person report for those rejections. And I would definitely give my local immigration a try in doing the 1 address report using the TM95 before I mailed-off a report to BOI Immigration in Bangkok....like the BOI rep said in their response that local office "might" just accept the 1 year report....no doubt results are going to vary from office to office....just like trying to open a bank acct in Thailand. It shouldn't be this iffy/hard....but it is what it is.

Keep in mind that in a EV battery there is more than just batteries.....there is also electronics to manage the batteries. While theoretically battery packs can be recharged thousands of times the electronics in the battery pack may not agree to last that long and fail. And if the failed electronics are closely integrated with the batteries the EV manufacturer may not be able (or refuse) just to repair the battery pack but say you gotta buy a new one. There is a Youtube video where a guy buys a wrecked BYD Atto just to get the battery...and he has around a half dozen videos showing his disassembly of the battery pack....well, "partial disassembly" because he found out he could not disassemble fully because of how the blade batteries and accompanying battery management circuity boards plus other components were so tightly integrated....pretty much once assembled at the factory they will forever stay assembled....not designed for disassembly/repair. I think most of us now LED lights have theoretical/advertised lifetime of 50K to 100K hours; however, that relates to the tiny, little LED light itself....but that LED light can not operate/shine bright without its driver (a.k.a., its power supply) which is some various electronic devices on the board containing the LEDs. Usually when an LED light fails it's some component in the power supply vs the LED light itself. I have LED light bulbs throughout my house...a couple times a year I have to change one or two of them as they fail....they failed far, far short of the 50K hours point.

I just noticed that at the BOI LTR Visa website: https://ltr.boi.go.th/ they have added another submenu titled "How to Manage Your LTR Visa" under the main menu of "Manage LTR Visa" But all this new submenu talks is how to do the 1 year reporting and how to get a drivers license; not nearly as extensive as the info at the SMART Visa BOI website: https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/smart/pages/how-to-manage.html Anyway, below is a quote of the new LTR Visa submenu at https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/how-to-manage.html How to Manage your LTR visa and Beyond 1-YEAR REPORTING TO THE IMMIGRATION BUREAU AT THE ONE STOP SERVICE CENTER FOR VISA AND WORK PERMIT LTR Visa holders staying in Thailand for a period longer than 1 year consecutively are required to report the current address to the Immigration at One Stop Service Center for Visa and Work Permit (OSS) either in person, or by authorizing someone to report for you on your behalf. This report must be done on a yearly basis counting from LTR Visa issuance date (15 days before or 7 days after the date specified on 1-year report notification card). However, in the case of re-entering the Kingdom, the report will be due in 1 year from the date of the latest arrival. The documents required to be submitted to the immigration are as follows. TM.95 Form (completely filled out and signed) Passport * T.M. 6 Card (arrival/departure card) (if any) * 1-Year report notification card (if any) * TM.61 Form (For authorized person reporting on behalf of LTR visa holder who lives in Bangkok) * If LTR Visa is issued at Royal Thai Embassy/ Consulate-General, LTR Visa holders will not receive a 1-year report notification card. In such case, the report will be due in 1 year from the latest arrival date specified on the arrival stamp. PROCEDURES FOR LTR VISA HOLDERS WHO WISH TO OBTAIN A PERSONAL DRIVING LICENSE The Department of Land Transport has established regulations for aliens applying for a driving license to submit work permit or proof of residence in the Kingdom issued by government agencies or foreign government agencies. Therefore, LTR Visa holders wishing to obtain a personal driving license must provide proof of the current residence which can be obtained from or The Embassy or Consulate of their own nationality. For more information please contact the Embassy or Consulate of your nationality directly The Immigration Bureau at One stop service center for visa and work permit (OSS), Chamchuri Square Building by applying for Residence Certificate and submit following documents in person; COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM RESIDENCE CERTIFICATE IN THAILAND The evidence of your residence. It could be either the receipt of TM.30 (notification to immigration that house-master, owner or the possessor notify you has stayed. the notification receipt through website or telephone are acceptable) or House lease agreement. Passport Copy of your passport (first page and visa page) Copy of TM.6 card (If any)* Please note that the processing time will takes 15 days after submitting request form.

In the business/financing world fleet funding can occur various ways and be called different things. https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/fleet-management/fleet-funding-contract-purchase-or-personal-contract-purchase-pcp-/35738/

"....never heard of...." does not mean they are not a big and/or known auto manufacturing company...and there is even a Changan-Ford partnership. See to Wiki snapshots below. Their vehicles sold in many countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changan_Automobile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changan_Ford

Yea...not many Changan dealerships across Thailand "yet"....a total of 27 showrooms/generals service centers in 15 provinces according to the Changan Thailand website below. https://www.changan.co.th/en/dealer/ And of the 15 provinces wither dealerships most of those provinces only have one dealership....but places like Bangkok have 5 of the 27 dealerships, neighboring Samut Prakan 3 of the 27, neighboring Phatun Thani 3 of the 27, Chonburi 3 of the 27.....or said another way a little over half of the 27 dealerships are currently concentrated in/around the greater Bangkok area. In comparison to BYD which has 101 dealerships those dealerships have much better coverage across Thailand in more provinces but a large number of their 101 dealerships are located in the greater Bangkok area. https://www.reverautomotive.com/en/locator/dealer-station

A partial quote below from above article pretty much sums up what the PM is really wanting---he's really wants more tax revenue by wanting to tax more "Made in China" products. But at the same time China and Thailand have a Free Trade Agreement that dictates no to little import tax on products made in China or Thailand. He's speaking out of both sides of his mouth....trying to pacify certain Thai industries whose competition is cheaper China industries while also looking for more tax revenue to fund his parties programs/election promises like giving out a Bt10K handout. While the Revenue Dept may end up raising some "excise" taxes on some products the dept will not be able to raise "import" taxes on most China made products due to the trade agreement between China-Thailand. And even raising excise taxes on some products will get major push-back from China and Thai companies which sell those products. Yeap, all that will result is some tinkering around the tax edges.

Cost comparisons are great...can really help a person make a final decision. Personally I do cost comparisons for all types of things....I have done such all my life on many things I have bought or thinking about buying, investing in, etc.,....and I try to do apple-to-apple comparison as much as possible although that can get kinda hard to do sometimes depending on what type of product/service I'm costing-out, tangibles & intangibles involved, desires vs real needs, etc. Me and spreadsheet software are good buddies. And I can tell Yellowtail and spreadsheets are great buddies also....a really good spreadsheet he provided....thanks. But I just use that cost comparison as one factor in my decision and how much weight the cost comparison carries will vary. Each person will be different in that aspect. Sometimes the cost comparison may clearly show buying product X appears to be a better deal than product Y "cost-wise" but I still end-up buying product Y because I simply "desire/want/like" product Y. Maybe call it attraction, which equally beautiful girl you end-up marrying, deciding between the top of line Apple phone or Samsung phone, etc. And since the products X & Y cost comparison came out fairly close, I still feel comfortable in my selection in those cases where I pick the more expensive product/service. Yeap, cost comparisons are great...many people use them all the time (like me)...they are "a" key factor in making a decision but not the "only" factor. As I mentioned in an early post at this stage of EV vs ICEV, ICEV vehicles still have the overall cost/price advantage but that is steadily changing. IMO mankind's future will definitely have a lot more EVs in comparison to ICEVs....it's a technology change that's not going to stop. Kinda like the transition from horse & buggy to motorized vehicles....that trend went on for decades. How many decades it takes to happen for the ICEV to EV transition will surely take several decades more...and how long it takes will be impacted by anecdotal evidence, climate change, advances in fuel technologies & batteries, wars, unexpected events, etc.....but the transition will not be stopped. How many horse & buggies have you seen on the road lately?

Fingers-in-the-Dike and election year political cover type actions. Heck, US politicians are still arguing over banning TikTok for the masses (lot of talk but scared to take any real action)...other than the President banning TicTok on "US government owned phones" TikTok continues to be about the most favorite app going with the masses. Lower cost Chinese EVs will make their way into the US markets....the special interest groups only have so many fingers to plug the dike...and after this election year politicians vocal interest will drop way off until the next election two years down the road.

BINGO!!! I have figured out how to get a zoom-in or -out "to pretty much stay put" while driving. When I say "pretty much" there are a few situations that will cause the zoom to changed back to its default level. A few hours after I posted above I once again set down in my Atto in the driveway and played with the Nav zoom-in and -out....and I finally figured out the secret after a couple of months of trying this-and-that usually when driving somewhere. The secret is to use a "one finger double tap" to zoom-in and a "multi-finger double tap" to zoom-out...."tapping is the secret....not using your fingers in a squeeze in or out motion like typically used on a smartphone phone to zoom in and out. After a couple hours of driving where I test this "tapping" method it worked well; but the squeezing method sucks. A new zoom level set-up by "tapping" will pretty much stay put unless something triggers a sensor (like a motorcycle coming durn close to you), making certain turns that also trigger the camera system to come on your infotainment display, a "sharp" U-turn, or turning the car off. But for the most part the zoom-in or -out will stay put while driving and not return to the default zoom level after less than a minute or a few minutes...it stays put. And with those finger taps it's important to separate those taps by at least second otherwise you'll just get the Recenter icon popping up while tapping which means your zoom change is not going to stick long. And for the multi-finger taps for zoom-out it's best to use only use two fingers vs three or more fingers AND those two fingers must hit the screen at the same time otherwise your get the Recenter icon popping up. Although it can get a little difficult to make both fingers hit the display at the exact same time as you are driving along with a little practice it's not hard to get the multi-finger tap down pat. Yeap, "tapping" to zoom versus using a fingers in & out type motion is the secret. Additionally, just last week I figured out another secret in how to "mark/save" a location quickly and to the exact location. You've probably noticed if say you wanted to mark/save an exact location you were currently at you can not mark that location where your location pointer currently is/overlays. Instead you would need to maybe tap a location a 100 meters or so away from the location pointer to get the Favorites menu to pop-up to where you could then save that location as a Favorite...but as mentioned you have not saved the ""exact" location....the location is not exact...it might be a 100 meters or so off which is like a country-mile when driving is a city like Bangkok with soi's closely spaced. So, the secret is to tap the icon at the bottom of the screen that displays the current road name/address....when tapping that icon the Favorites menu will pop up and you can save the location as a Favorite...two quick taps and you've saved the "exact" location....not a location maybe 100 meters or more away if trying to get the Favorites menu to popup by tapping another area of the display. With these two secrets now known it has eliminated the only two major things I disliked about the Atto Nav system...which I assume to be the same Nav system as on the Seal and Dolphin.

Yea, here in Bangkok metro area (which includes parts of bordering provinces) it's hard to drive much more than one kilometers (or even a few hundred meters in some cases) before seeing an EV on the road....and it's likely to be a BYD model, Hozon Neta V, Ora Good Cat, or a Telsa....I also see quite a few MG EVs. Heck, here in my Bangkok moobaan my particular soi which has 10 houses on it....3 of the 10 houses have EVs (2 Atto's and 1 Telsa Model Y). And just this week one soi over from mine that house now has a new, red tag Atto parked in it's driveway. EVs taking away ICEV sales share is happening at a pretty good clip here in the Bangkok area.

There is no direct fee charged by Citibank for an IDD payment!!!...like a fee of Bt200, Bt300, 0.25%, or any type of sending fee. However, the exchange rate used by Citibank will be different than another bank...that's where Citibank will make its profit....call it an indirect fee if you like. But depending on how much your SSA payment is every month you are still better off total baht-in-your-account wise if you payment is at or below $1,125/month net....and you can have it sent to "any" Thai bank...and even to a joint Thai bank acct. Now above $1,125 you would get just a little more baht to your Bangkok Bank acct if you were using the standard direct deposit method which uses the ACH transfer system routed thru the Bangkok Bank NY branch and it must be sent to a special/restricted Bangkok Bank acct....can not be sent to a regular Bangkok Bank acct nor any other Thai bank. And the exchange rate Citibank uses meets the contract requirements they have with the US Treasury as Citibank is under contract with the US Treasury to complete the transfer and provide the exchange rate to certain countries (like Thailand) for International Direct Deposit (IDD) transfers for govt agencies like the SSA, Veteran's Administration, etc. For certain countries the US Federal Reserve Kansas City accomplishes the exchange and for certain countries the US Treasury processor bank will accomplish the exchange....in Thailand's case (and many other countries) Citibank has the contract to accomplish the exchange...get the transfer/payment processed to your bank account. Since the last leg/final mile of an IDD transfer to Thailand is accomplished over the Thailand BAHTNET system the "receiving" bank, repeat, the receiving bank which would be the bank you have your acct at then charges a Bt100 BAHTNET direct receiving fee....just a standard fee within the Thai banking system relating to all BAHTNET transfers. Refer back to my 5 Jan post which provides more details/info regarding IDD and ACH payments.

Just a point where I bolded one of the statements above where no one pays that much....as in Bt5 (per KWH) I assume the statement to mean. Actually Bt5 per KWH is a very close number (actually a hair low right now with the current Ft rate) to what a typical person pays in total cost per KWH for each additional KWH they use at home like in charging an EV if they have electric service in their own name or don't have solar...and most people don't have solar. And of course a person don't pay some inflated landlord rate for electricity like we periodically see on AseanNow....like some folks paying around Bt9/KWH. Now some people may also have a TOU meter and charge late at night which would lower the KWH cost well below Bt5/KWH---down to around Bt3/KWH--or if they mess-up and charge during the most of the day it would raise it to over Bt6/KWH. But once again, most people don't have a TOU meter based on what I see in my Bangkok moobaan of hundreds of standalone homes, the Thai family/friends moobaans in the provinces, etc...but I will admit when people need to add a second electric meter/lines to their home in order to install an EV wall charger and they can always charge during off peak hours (10pm-9am) a TOU meter could lower charging cost down to around Bt3/KWH vs the more typical approx Bt5/KWH. Example using the PEA monthly electric service calculator (or MEA calculator) which gives accurate cost to the satang. - Total cost per month if using a total of 400KWH/month before buying/not charging an EV: Bt1,847.04 -- Total cost is basic rate, Ft rate, meter fee, and VAT...just every cost of a person' monthly electric bill for each additional KWH they use like for EV charging - Total cost per month if using 446KWH (used an additional 46KWH/month to charge the EV): Bt2,084.23 - So, that additional 46KWH to charge the EV cost: Bt2,084 - Bt1,847 = Bt237. Bt237 divided by 46KWH equals Bt5.15/KWH. And this is based on the lower Ft rate for Jan-Apr 2024 of Bt0.39/KWH. If it had been based on the previous Ft of Bt0.20/KWH it would have been Bt4.95/KWH. The Ft rate that usually changes every 4 months causes the total cost per KWH to periodically change a per tenths of a baht/KWH. Anyway, I think approx Bt5/KWH is very close to what most people will pay for charging at home. Cheap compared to the cost of diesel/petrol.

Last week the wife and I switched to some new phones....we both got Samsung S24+'s running Android 14....and were upgrading from our Samsung A8+ (2018) phones running Android 9. We used Samsung Smart Switch to move all our apps/data/pictures/videos/etc., between phones...such a smooth and fast process the Samsung Smart Switch app is....only took about 20 minutes per phone. Then it was time to get our Thai bank mbanking apps working/activated on the new phones. When starting the Bangkok Bank app we logged in using our User/Password used for ibanking/web banking (had to to this with a mobile connection; Wifi connection not allowed during the activation). Entered our User ID/PW...received a 2FA code to enter...then the app says you already have the app activated on another phone and activating on your new phone will deactivate the app on the old phone. Click Yes to deactivate the the app on the old phone and you are now activated on the new phone. Very easy. And after getting the app activated you can go back to using a Wifi connection if desired. Krungsri Bank mbanking app used a very similar process. And the KrungThai Bank also required a face scan to match the picture they had on-file for you. Yeap....getting the Thai mbanking apps activated on the new phones went much easier than expected. And getting my home country mbanking apps working on the new phones went easy also...could use a Wifi connection for that. My fear of some mbanking app activations/moving to a new phone "hitting a brickwall somewhere" didn't occur.

Yea...and no need to use Go-Fund-Me pseudo insurance.

I think what they mean by "...or for tourism purposes..." is for those nationalities which can get a Visa on Arrival (VOA) for tourism purposes....like below nationalities. And then you have other nationalities who might decide to get a Tourist Visa before arriving Thailand allowing them to stay longer from the get-go. The key seems to be that you be on a "visa" which has tourism related to it which also means you forked-out 2000 or 1900 baht to get a VOA for tourism purposes or a Tourist Visa before arriving. It seems if entering on a freebie Visa Exempt entry for up to 30 days of being a tourist/partying/etc. such a Visa Exempt entry would not receive the insurance. I bet the govt is funding this insurance by simply tapping into the funds they collect whenever a Tourist Visa or VOA for tourism purposes is issued at a cost of 1900/2000 baht. So, in a roundabout way the tourist is still paying for the insurance indirectly.

I did my comparison between the two vehicle I have...the Fortuner diesel and the Atto electric...as I could do a very accurate comparison since I drive/fuel both vehicles. That's all that was important to me....the vehicles I own and drive. Sure, you could do a cost comparison between any two vehicles of similar size you wanted....say a million baht vehicle or a half million baht vehicle....the half million baht vehicle is going to win in total cost of ownership simply because it cost a lot less to initially buy.....but it's highly unlikely that half million baht vehicle is going to be as nice, well built as the million baht vehicle. If a person is only interested in the pure transportation part/cost of getting from point A to B at the lowest possible cost then go with the cheapest petrol vehicle they can buy....or better yet maybe a Honda Wave 100cc motorcycle...the motorcycle shop may even include a free helmet and plastic rain suit. Then again a person could go with a Neta V EV for $549K in lieu of buying a $509K petrol Mirage since those two vehicles seem to be of very similar size.

Naw....little compact cars with large lawn mower petrol engines in them like the Mitsubishi Mirage is not my style.

PEA chargers are shown on my Atto Nav. Now do they show every PEA charger...well, I could say as I nevered compared what is reflected in the Atto Nav and the PEA Volta app. For example of PEA chargers being shown on the Atto Nav see a few pics below where I zoomed around some of the areas I travel too.

- Not essential but very desirable. Makes charging your EV as easy as charging your smartphone at home. - Depends on how much EV charging you need to do....and how much you need to charge depends on how much you drive the EV....it's not like it's a set amount charged each month. If you have your residence PEA/MEA electric service in your own name vs paying some inflated landlord electricity price, you will be paying approx 5 baht (actually a little less) for each additional KWH you use to charge your EV. Now I know that still probably does not mean much to you because you also need to know how many kilometers your EV gets per 1KWH used. But I'm here to tell you it's a lot less than what you will be paying for fossil fuel per kilometer driven. Like in my case I have a 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel which gets 10.4Km/liter and a BYD Atto 3. For the same kilometers driven the Atto is 77% cheaper fuel cost wise to drive than the Fortuner. See partial snapshot at bottom from a personal spreadsheet I have comparing fuel costs between my ICEV an EV. Now if you don't have a wall charger and must use a commercial charge you will be paying in the Bt5.5 to Bt9.5/KWH ballpark....still cheaper than fossil fuel...plus, you need to spend time at the charger. - Lots of charging points....now in rural parts of Thailand the chargers are few but in cities/towns, especially the larger towns, there are plenty of chargers. - Bt5.5 to 9.5....it varies depending on the charging company. PEA chargers are usually the cheapest. - BYD is good but other EVs like the Neta, Ora Good Cat, etc., are good also. LOTS (and more everyday) of BYD dealerships.

This is a good example of where a tax return may not show your entire income and another document such as benefit letter/statement from the annuity or pension paying entity is required. Another example which applies to some U.S. applicants is if they draw a Veteran's Administration (VA) pension (that the VA calls an annuity) which is 100% "non-taxable/non-reportable" by U.S. law. And no annual tax form like a Form 1099 is issued for income tax purposes since it's not taxable/not reportable. However, the VA does provide a Benefit Letter to confirm you receive a monthly pension/annuity of X-amount. So, there are cases where a person's tax return maybe reflect (just for example) a total annual income of less than $80K (let's say $73K just for example) which is totally or partially taxable....since they were totally or partially taxable that's why they show on your income tax form. But that person is also drawing some pension/annuity that is totally not taxable/non reportable on a tax return per that country's tax laws/regulations. Let's say he's drawing a VA pension/annuity for $10K/year which is not reflected on the tax return. So, actually his total annual income is $83K which exceeds the LTR income requirement of $80K. If a person's tax return does not show all income then they need to provide other evidence to show that income. And I highly recommend a short memo where you explain certain income is not reflected on your tax return because of XYZ....like because by tax law in your country it's non-taxable/non reportable by tax law.

The author of this article is David Blackmon who is a fossil fuel evangelist, anti-green energy type person. 40 years experience in the "oil and gas" business...he's even based in Texas the land of fossil fuel. The great, great majority of his articles are anti-green energy, pro fossil fuel. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/d/da-de/david-blackmon/ https://dailycaller.com/author/dblackmon/

I expect the Navigation system on the Seal and Atto are same-same so maybe one of you Seal owners know the secret answer to my below question. When "zooming-in or -out" on the map without having a destination set or having pressed the Charging Station icon to display nearby charging stations "how can you get zoom-in/out to stay zoomed in/out? When I have a destination set or the charging stations menu displayed I can zoom in/out and the zoom stays in place.....does not go back to the normal non-zoomed in or out display after X-amount of time. I want to be able to zoom-in/out and it stay put without needing to have a destination set or the charging station menu displayed taking up a third of the screen. In trying to get the zoom in/out to stay put when just driving along without using a destination/charging stations I can not get the zoom to stay---and I've tried so, so many things like how I use my fingers to zoom. I typically get the "Recenter" icon appearing at the bottom and after 30 seconds or maybe up to a couple of minutes (it varies as to how long it takes for the display zoom returns to normal) the display returns to the normal zoom level. Sometimes I can get the zoon in/out to occur without the Recenter icon appearing but it still does not make a difference in the display not returning to its normal zoom level after a minute or two or three. But as mentioned earlier if I have a destination set or have pressed the Charging Station icon when the map display is in one of those mode my zoom-in/out will stay. On my 2009 Toyota Fortuner Nav you could change the zoom level by simply pressing a + or - zoom level icon on the screen....but no such icons on the BYD Nav screen....gotta use your finger to zoom in or out like using a smartphone. Any ideas on how to get the zoom to stay put? Thanks.

That Electric Viking video is misinformed (i.e., BS).. Transport mode is a mode to minimize battery usage/drain normally after its built at the factory and until it's eventually sold at a dealership. A few days after I got my BYD Atto I noticed that Transport Mode icon appearing on my main screen and also in one of the pull down menus. Couldn't find anything in the car manual about Transport Mode. But I figured it should not be activated like it currently was....I figured the dealership simply forgot to deactivate before I took delivery of the vehicle. Every time I would press the Transport Mode icon a popup menu would appear asking for a password. After some googling I found a reddit post (below) that gave the password to deactivate transport mode. When I entered the password the Transport Mode icon disappeared from the main screen and also in a menu it use to be displayed in. No bricking of the vehicle, etc. This occurred back in late Oct 2023 and almost 8000Km ago when I got the new Atto. Over the next few days in some more googling and youtubing about Transport Mode which is common on many vehicles (older or brand new)---and not just EVs--it was apparent Transport Mode can be activated and deactivated in several different ways (some ways my simultaneously pressing certain control button on the vehicles) and varies from model to model. Anyway I turned off Transport Mode using the info in the Reddit post....no bricking of the Atto, no explosions, no nothing....just the Transport Mode apparently being deactivated and the icon disappearing. How Transport Mode would get activated again in my Atto I have no clue as their is no icon to reactivate it....I expect there is some method of simultaneously pressing some buttons and/or the dealership/factory doing it.

A webpage link for above chart might add some creditability & context, but right now I simply can't believe a diesel or petrol vehicle only depreciates less than 5% per year or after around 4 years an EV is worth almost nothing.. Heck, petrol/diesel vehicles (or any type) depreciate more than 5% the day you drive them off the new car lot simply because they are now a used/pre-owner vehicle. Below webpage I think gives a good overall view of vehicle depreciation over it's lifetime. https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/car-depreciation-guide