Melpomene

Yeah they haven't really taken off in the way I thought they would've done to be honest. I think the price is ok, particularly after the recent cuts, although maybe I'm just comparing them to the UK as they're about 15% cheaper. I'm more concerned about the lack of service centres, I suppose you'd be gambling on them opening more sites and getting more trained technicians in over the next year or two. There's a number of tales on the Thai forums of long queues to get issues looked at. I'm also a bit wary of range compared to the Seal. I want the LFP battery, so the only M3 option is the RWD which is just 513kms. So you're paying 150-200k more depending on colour for a slower car with less range. Then if you're looking at the MY it's only 455kms which I think really is too low.

Finally got round to popping into the Tesla showroom at the weekend. I was very impressed, particularly with the size of the Model Y, the boot was enormous so from a practical point of view it would be great. The build quality felt really good as well, I've seen plenty of people questioning this online, but to me the interior definitely felt like a step up from the BYD, and that's not disrespecting the BYD cars which I love, but it just had really nice feel to it. I've seen people saying it's like Apple vs Android, and I can see where they are coming from with that. The lack of service centres & super chargers and the higher insurance costs in Thailand are a major issue, but it's certainly been added to my list of possibles. I don't think I've seen anyone on this discussion who owns one in Thailand, but if there is it would be good to get some first hand views of living with one in Thailand.

Anybody still have problems with PTT EV Station PluZ ? I've tried to use it 3 times since they screwed up their app update. The first two times I couldn't get charging to start. I've left it for a week and tried them again this morning and this time charging started ok, but it didn't register through to my app and I was unable to end the charging session and unplug. I ended up having to speak to their contact centre to get the CP reset. There's absolutely no record of it on my app, so will be interesting to see if we get charged for it! On all 3 occasions there was somebody else at the charging station experiencing the same problem, so it wasn't just me. Seems like they really have screwed up their systems with this latest round of "upgrades" they've released! Think I'll be sticking with EAnywhere in the future...

More discounts in the EV market. Apparently GAC are also refunding customers who bought previously at the higher price, which is a nice move on their part.

Took my wife to lunch at the local mall today. I chose the location as I knew BYD were there showing cars and I wanted to show her the Seal hahaha! They had a Red Atto 3 on display. It's a lovely looking colour, really suits the car.

Yeah that's a fair point. Although to me it does feel slightly different, the ECUs are computers that control the various components of the ICE, whilst BEVs are the computers themselves! ICE technology has been fairly stable for many years, whereas EVs are progressing at a crazy rate of knots. Look at some of the Changan cars with their 1000km ranges or the new Neta with 10 minute charging. My mind is blown by the number of new cars appearing on the horizon, and not only do they look incredible but they seem to be getting cheaper !! Everything I have ever known about cars feels like it's been turned upside down. That said I'm close to booking a Seal, but I would ideally like to wait for the Changan release before the EOY if my patience allows it 😄.

This is a very good point, and it's probably the one doubt about EVs I still have. When is the right time to jump in? EVs are in essence "a computer on wheels", and we all know how fast tech changes and not only that, with each year that passes, the rate of change itself gets even quicker. Ultimately, I think EVs may not just end up changing the way we drive, but also the way we buy cars. Perhaps we'll see more leasing/subscription type models that cater for constantly improving technology and will build on recycling capabilities for older models. This isn't really an option in Thailand right now, but if I was back in the UK I'd certainly be looking at leasing rather than buying my next car.

They offer 3 day, 1 week, 1 month and then longer options. For the Atto 3 it starts at 7499 for 3 days inclusive. For a month it goes up to about 40k. It's not exactly cheap, but it's a similar sort of price for what you'd pay for an SUV with other hire car companies.

I think I've seen them mentioned on this thread before, but I'm currently driving an EV that I hired from EVme https://evme.io I wanted to see what it was like living with one before I commit. I'm very impressed both with the car (Atto 3) and the service. It's very easy to book through their app. Collection is also straight forward and they'll deliver within Bkk. Price wise they're comparable with other hire car companies and they have almost every model available including the Seal. Definitely recommended if you fancy trying before buying...

Congratulations, hopefully you'll now not have to wait too long to collect the car. If I remember correctly you mentioned you were doing the finance in your wife's name, but based upon your income from outside of Thailand - have I got that right ? We've always paid cash for our cars, but I may be tempted to finance this one as I didn't realise this would be possible, so it's good to know you can do this.

Out of interest is there any reason, other than personal preference of driving style, that you wouldn't want the highest levels of regen at all times? I'm still learning about everything EV, and this seems like the best setting to have - additional range, less wear on the brakes etc. Just wondered if I'd missed something?

Hello all - massive thanks for all the comments, tips, guidance and general conversation on this thread. There's been lots of useful info provided that I'll certainly be following when it comes to application time ????

I'll send these over to you over the weekend. Apologies for the delay ????

Many thanks for the tips. I've already got the requirements document, so am currently working through that. I'll make another trip to the IO ahead of time as you suggest to validate our documents. And then pray it goes smoothly ????. I think I'll also make an appointment in HCMC as well just in case there's an issue, so I've got a back up plan. I can always cancel this if the application is accepted.

It will be Pathum Thani immigration.

Hello all - I posted a few weeks back about having to pop to HCMC to get another non-imm O visa based upon marriage to give myself time to allow the 400k to season for two months. However, I've managed to get my ducks in a row a bit quicker than I thought and with doing the 60 day extension I think I will just about be able to apply for the one year extension based upon marriage before the extension stamp expires. My time line is as follows : 25/09 - 400k deposited in my account 28/11 - my current permission to stay ends It's going to be pretty tight and annoyingly the two month seasoning date is a Saturday (25/11), so potentially the earliest I could apply is 27/11 which is the day before my permission to stay expires - is this cutting it too fine given it'll be my first experience applying for this extension and there's a chance I'll have some document missing/incorrect ? Would it be worth applying on 24/11 (I'd say 25/09 - 24/11 is two full months ????), or is this likely to be futile and risk irritating the immigration officer ? Many thanks...

Just got back from test driving the Seal and was very, very impressed. I cannot quite get over the quality of the finish, much better than I'd expected. It's the first time I'd visited a BYD dealer to look at their cars, and I must admit I'd perhaps fallen into the "cheap Chinese rubbish" trap - I couldn't have been more wrong. Our local dealer only had the Premium models in stock and he "unofficially" told me the price for this is going to be 1,450,000. This is more than fast enough for me, and the extra range of this can only be a good thing. My only slight dislike was the infotainment display, it felt a bit slow and unresponsive and even crashed my phone when I connected the bluetooth. Any existing BYD drivers have any issues with this in the ATTO 3 or Dolphin ? I'd had my heart set on buying a "premium" brand this time round as had grown bored of Toyotas, so had been looking at the Volvo XC40 or waiting for the iX1. After seeing these cars today I'm not sure I could now bring myself to pay the extra money, so we're now seriously considering a Seal for me & a Dolphin for the wife and saving 500k !

Oops! Apologies, that should say thanks Tod ????

Lol - I did chuckle reading about a Rover 75 in an EV discussion. Has there ever been a greater leap on AseanNow ????. Back onto EVs I see the Volvo XC40 MY 2024 is out now with a range up to 645km NEDC.

Thanks Todd, and to everyone else who replied. You've all confirmed my worries about the agent. So it sounds like the best course of action is to go and get another non-imm based upon marriage and then do the yearly extension once the 400k has been there for two months. Thanks again everyone ????

Hello all, I've been in and out of the country on a one year multi entry non-imm visa based upon marriage. I'm now going to be staying in Thailand permanently and as my current visa is ending I want to do the 1 year in country extension. However, it took me a while to get a bank account open which I now have, but I'm less than two months until my current stamp runs out (I've already done the 60 day extension). So my plan was to pop back to HCMC and get another non-imm visa then when my 400k has been in the bank for long enough to extend this for another year. This is all fairly straight forward, however, I've stumbled across a visa agent who claim to be able to get me a 1 year extension for around 40k and I don't need 400k in the bank. To be honest I'd happily pay the 40k for one year to save me the hassle of going a redoing the visa again, I can then start doing my own 1 year extensions from next year. However, I'm a bit concerned how legit this is, I know TiT and all that, but I thought the 400k in a bank for two months was non-negotiable. Apparently it's not done at my local immigration centre, but rather an upcountry one and they will also take care of my 90 day reporting during the year. The agent seem to be fairly well recommended on various sites, but I wondered if anyone has experience of doing the extension this way ?

So I did review the small print, and to be fair it neither explicitly mentioned covering or excluding damage to the battery, so you could well be right. However, wouldn't this be an issue with all electric cars rather than just Volvo specifically ? Anyone else with experience of insuring an electric car care to comment on this ?

We've had quotes between 30 & 35k for 1st class insurance on the XC40, so it's certainly worth shopping around.

Where did you see these reviews ? We're thinking of the XC40 and the YouTube range tests we've watched suggest around 360-410 kms for longer road trips. This would be fine, but at 250km I may well think again, particularly as the XC40 would be slightly less economical than the C40. I've linked a couple of the videos I've watched below. The second one is, I think, quite relevant as it shows a long trip in LOS with all the stopping and starting associated with that.

That's good to hear. I've really not heard too many negative experiences tbh. Have you found maintenance to be as minimal as suggested? We do quite a high mileage, so it seems like our Toyota is constantly at the garage for another service!