11 minutes ago, marino28 said:

https://electrek.co/2024/04/08/byd-launch-next-gen-ev-battery-more-range-lower-price/

 

this one is a game changer. 
if really in the near future the range go up do 1000km and the price will be even more cheap than now. I think I will buy one ev.

Not really a game change....just a good improvement in BYD Blade Battery capacity of approx 27%.   And that 1000km estimate is based on CLTC range estimation without saying how big the KWH battery size would need to be in a certain car model.  CLTC ranges are optimistic....even more optimistic than the optimistic NEDC estimate.   

For example, a BYD Atto 3 Extended range with 60.5KWH Blade Battery has a CLTC range of 510Km, a  NEDC of 480Km, and a WLTP of 420Km.     Say the the Atto 3 battery pack physical sized remained the same but its Gen 1 Blade Battery cells were replaced with this new Gen 2 cell with 27% more capacity it would now have around 77KWH capacity with a CLTC range of around 650Km, NEDC of 610, and WLTP of 535Km.

Yea....big, huge grilles serve as a "prestige" badge for some....maybe they feel it screams wealth.  But that's OK, everyone has different preferences as to how some product looks.   One thing for sure though, when it's a silver grille and the sun hits it just right it can look like a laser beam being directed right at you.   

Appears a visa for entry is pretty hardcore for Americans barring certain circumstances.  Maybe your American friend left out some details on his visit.

https://cibtvisas.com/blog/vietnam-entry-requirements#:~:text=What travel documents do American,be obtained through various methods.

6 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Also, are we really going to see 140 of these contraptions on Thai roads?

Add an "r" to BOMA and you have a joke in Spanish.

 

Not my cup of tea....just way too small for me....plus, I still haven't warmed-up to vehicles with a HUGE grille like the HiSo Toyota Alphard has...a van I think is ugly when viewed from the front.   The BOMA looks a lot like a mini-me Alphard on the outside....I expect that "copy-cat" look was the plan from the get-go.

However, if just wanting transportation for short trips like going back to work in the city, can squeeze thru the narrowest soi, park in postal stamp sized parking spaces, etc., a BOMA may just fit the bill for certain groups.   Here in the Bangkok metro region I see all types of small vehicles and LOTS of them...mostly ICEV....with more small EV appearing all the time.   

Maybe folks with a Toyota Alphard should replace its spare tire with a BOMA?   Just be sure to remember to check/top-up the BOMA battery every six months or so...which just replaces the routine of checking/topping-up the spare tire pressure every six months.  😉

https://paultan.org/2024/04/02/bangkok-2024-honri-boma-ev-mini-alphard/

6 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Now that the dust has settled for the motorshow registration numbers and it is clear that EVs did well, then why was Tesla not there?

Is Tesla afraid to compete directly with the new Chinese brands on price and showmanship?

 

From some googling this morning I get the impression motor shows are a small part of Telsa's marketing plan....along with avoid "paid" advertising.  Apparently it's common for Tesla  to skip many of the biggest auto shows worldwide...selective in what exhibitions they participate in.

Tesla Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study | Simplilearn

An In-Depth Look at Tesla’s Marketing Strategy

Tesla absent from China’s largest annual auto show - Global Times

21 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Another thing I found out is that you can sign up for direct deposit of pensions, SSA checks, etc., directly to a Thai bank. Every month, the Treasury sends a wire transfer. The details on making the request weren’t exactly clear, but you do have to send an actual letter to each agency.  I guess I’ll try it and see.  Maybe it’ll be a simple process. This process is different than the process for sending SSA checks to Bangkok Bank.

 

It's called International Direct Deposit (IDD).  Although most should accept a letter "if" it has all the required info it's best to use the specific IDD form.  The monthly benefit is sent via the SWIFT system.  For SSA IDD direct deposit, the SSA form is at below SSA webpage.

https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1199-op107.pdf

8 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

How much you have to put down to confirm a booking is important as well. Anyone know?

"For BYD" to reserve (a.k.a., book, order) a car it's Bt10K at a dealership....probably the same at a motorshow.  

2 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

@Pib, @vinny41

Are the sales number from the Motor Show out yet?

Still a lot of blanks here:

https://bims45.motorshow.in.th/statistics/#

 

Pib at 3,200 vs. EOW at 1,888 for BYD.

Yeap...they are out.   BYD booked the 2nd highest number...Toyota was 1st....Honda 3rd. 

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Thanks @Pib. I find that EV are always online intriguing, but also alarming. Of course our phones also collect data, but with the cars we have hardware, software, firmware and all data access rules made in China 🇨🇳. 

I assume the car don't have options as to what data are shared similar to what most phone apps have?

Is there any options to see what or even just how much data the car uploads?

Apparently the car manufacturer can remotely disable the car. It could be a handy feature for the repo-guy, but so far no reports of it happening in Thailand.....yet.

I'll take another look over the next few days regarding the data download/upload stuff.  You can see how much data each app has used but that's a combined download and upload....I'm seriously doubtful of a special setting/monitor that reports "upload" only.    Even many ICEV come with SIMs now days so their infotainment systems and associated apps to talk to the cloud.  I have no more worry over the EV being remotely disabled as I do my phone being remotely disabled---could either be disabled remotely--sure....that possibly has to be considered in today's internet world where even washing machines, refrigerators, etc., can connect to the internet.  

On 4/5/2024 at 3:25 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

@Pib, @Gweiloman

Do you then have to have a separate mobile package for the car's sim card and can you freely choose the service provider?

What is the monthly data usage?

Will the car work if you decide to remove the sim card and go "dark"?

On 4/5/2024 at 3:34 PM, Pib said:

The SIM that comes with my BYD Atto is provided free by BYD...and it's free service for 2 years...or maybe it's 4.  Then you can extended the service with BYD or switch to another SIM according to what the dealership told me.   The BYD SIM 2GB monthly limit (connects to AIS) which is much, much more than needed for basic communication.  Actually, when you want to make calls and stuff like that you would still be using your Smartphone's SIM via bluetooth/USD connection to the BYD infotainment system just like how it works on my 2009 Fortuner.  Yes, the car will continue to work without a SIM.

As little more info.   About an hour ago I remembered to go into the SIM settings again to hopefully see what is the telecommunication company name of the SIM card.   So, went into that area and it's a SingTel SIM and it was connected to AIS although it was also showing a bunch of True, DTAC, etc., towers which I may have been able to switch the connection to by manually selecting the cell service you wanted to hook to.  But I left it alone as in being connected to AIS as AIS has wide coverage across Thailand and SingTel (a Singapore company) owns 23% of AIS.

36 minutes ago, Pib said:

Just announced in Bangkok Post around 7pm/today/5 Apr that the govt is reducing the diesel subsidy by 0.5baht and B7/B10/20 diesel price will increase by 0.5baht tomorrow morning/6 Apr....article says the govt subsidy fund is too much in debt.  PTT and Bangchak has since announced a 0.5baht increase which means all other fuel companies will surely follow.  That may help EV sales a little especially if the public fees more fuel price increases to follow.

Below is the Thai PBS news article....and also a crude oil price snapshot.  Yes, a small diesel price increase but its added on to a diesel price that already hurts the pocketbook.  Earlier in the week the govt said they were going to try to maintain the current diesel price and subsidy, but I guess the govt oil fund high/increasing debit and also increasing crude oil price since early 2024 is too much handle right now.  Probably more small increases to come over the coming months unless crude oil starts decreasing soon. 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/diesel-price-to-increase-by-50-satang-per-litre-this-saturday/

The Fuel Fund’s executive committee decided on Friday to increase diesel price by 50 satang to 30.44 baht per litre, effective tomorrow, according to Wisak Watanasap, director of the Office of Oil Fuel Fund.

He said that the committee also increased the subsidy for diesel by 20 satang to 4.77 baht/litre, adding that the price increase will help improve the cash flow of the Oil Fuel Fund which, by March 31, was in the red to the tune of 99.82 billion baht, including 52.73 billion baht for diesel and 47.1 billion baht for LPG.

Wisak attributed the committee’s decision to global diesel price fluctuations, because of the continuing war in Ukraine and in the Middle East, as well as the recent price jump of diesel on the world market by US$2.74 per barrel, which are affecting the Oil Fuel Fund’s cash flow.

He maintains that the diesel price adjustment is in line with the global price situation and will not add too great a financial burden on consumers.

Currently, Thailand is consuming about 71 million litres of diesel per day

https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/#Brent-Crude

4 minutes ago, UWEB said:

Just returned back from the Motorshow. The 2024 Atto 3 Model looks for me much more better than the old Model and I was nearly going to buy one, but in the last moment I've switched to a Seal. But if someone like to buy, do it. You will not regret it.

Cool.   Which Seal model?  How much?

17 minutes ago, stat said:

Thanks for your post! Where did you get the great screenshot that states capital gain are passive income? 

 

I just saw that the income requirement for the wealthy citizen is 80K of income whereas for the pensioner LTR it states passive income. The 1 M USD requirement is technically relatively easy as every bank provides those statements (if you the money in the bank of course). Are the physical stamps different (Pensioner to wealthy citizen)? I would rather not have a stamp in my passport that flags me as wealthy for obvious reasons.

 

Thanks!

Full info (like the screenshot) at the BOI LTR website:  https://ltr.boi.go.th/

The LTR visa stamp that goes into your passport is just a plain jane stamp....for visa category it just has "LTR" preprinted followed by a handwritten code like "P" for pensioner.  

And Cap Gains is passive income since it was not earned from employment/wages.

14 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Is it possible you add the sim number in the My AIS app to monitor the data usage, up- and downloads?

The reason I ask, it that there is some debate in Europe that China is collecting and commercializing data from EVs.

This could just be driver behavior, that is then sold to insurance companies, but it could also be both voice and video recordings in and around the car.

I doubt it regarding the BYD-provided SIM.  Whether it's an AIS SIM or was just connecting to the AIS network I couldn't say. The BYD infotainment system will show the long IMEI number of its mobile communications circuit and the long ICCID of the SIM card but does not show the actual SIM phone number.

************

Unlike an IMEI number, which refers to the mobile device, an ICCID number refers to the SIM card itself. Since each SIM card has a unique ICCID, you may sometimes hear it called the SIM card number

Just use Manila SSA to change your DD info....use the Manila SSA website inquiry form.  They have a specific inquiry heading/topic just for that purpose.

3 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

 

Not sure about my BYD but I do know that OTAs are not included in the monthly allowance.

Yea...any OTA that could be hundreds of megabytes in size do not count against the monthly BYD data allotment.