The future of mobility in Thailand is smart, electric and quiet

[rooster59]

The future of mobility in Thailand is smart, electric and quiet

By Ramesh Narasimhan
Special to The Nation

 

NISSAN LEAF EV

 

Why electrification is key to reducing air and noise pollution, and improving people’s health

 

Thailand’s future mobility ecosystem is a topic that Nissan is hugely passionate about. Currently, the Kingdom’s goal is to put 1.2 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2036, and the government has expressed support for green transport to address rising emissions, traffic congestion and noise pollution. After more than two decades in this region, I have witnessed the impact urbanisation has had on the environment and health. And the question remains, what can we or should we do about it?

 

To address this, Nissan commissioned research firm Frost & Sullivan in March this year to develop a whitepaper to help examine the evolving role of mobility in future cities across Asia and Oceania. The report showed that Bangkok ranks comparatively well in areas such as the New Mobility Solutions Index and the Smart City Outlook Index (scoring 3.5 and 5 respectively in the region). However, transportation in Bangkok has yet to reach “Smart Mobility” standing under Frost & Sullivan’s definition. This is due to the congestion, which adds an extra 61 per cent of commuting time for travellers; and mounting pollution concerns.

 

A commitment to transform the way we live and drive

 

With such challenges, my new role as president is to find new opportunities and lead Nissan’s commitment to Thailand’s sustainable mobility evolution, using technology and innovations. Under Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility vision, we aim to transform the way people drive and live in Thailand, and we believe electric vehicles represent a solution to some of the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation.

 

One challenge gaining particular prominence, is noise pollution, which is a rising health issue, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Long-term exposure to high environmental noise levels such as traffic, above 53 decibels (dB), can result in adverse health effects, including raised blood pressure and even heart attacks. 

 

Regrettably, Bangkok, along with other major cities in Asia Pacific, including Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Manila, Melbourne, Singapore and Seoul, produce an ear piercing 76dB on average – almost four times louder than the WHO’s recommended noise levels.

 

Fortunately, people in Thailand are taking note. According to research funded by the Thailand Research Fund in 2018, more than half of all public complaints lodged were noise or traffic related. The United Nations has forecast that Thai urbanisation will reach 60.4 per cent by 2025, while the overlap in traffic and noise will increasingly become a burden on society. 

 

Hence, in a move to creatively educate Thai consumers on this growing health concern, Nissan has measured and compared the sound levels of a standard Bangkok street, to a street with the sounds of a 100 per cent electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF, using a sound level meter. 

 

The results showed noise levels on the standard street in city centre peaking at above 90dB, compared to the serene hum of a Nissan LEAF passing by at 21dB. 

 

Partnerships are key to Thailand’s smart, electric and prosperous future

 

There is also a wave of interest in EVs, with one in three Southeast Asian consumers open to buying an electric car – according to Frost & Sullivan. And Nissan is the first mass automobile manufacturer to offer a fully EV vehicle in 2010 – the zero-emission Nissan LEAF. Nearly a decade later, the Nissan LEAF still stands as the best-selling EV globally today, with more than 410,000 vehicles sold worldwide.

 

Thailand has now joined this EV trend, with the recent launch of the Nissan LEAF and 32 dealerships nationwide selling the model and offering service and charging support – one of the many ways Nissan is helping drive the country’s electrification goal. This is crucial as Thai EV drivers are not just limited to major metropolitan cities – underscored by the fact that more than 20 per cent of Nissan LEAF deliveries to date have been outside of main urban centres.

 

Our ability to offer the Nissan LEAF so broadly is due in part to key partnerships with government organisations like the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, Provincial Electricity Authority and private companies like Delta Electronics, a global power supply producer, who are helping electric vehicle drivers access charging solutions at home, at work and on the road. 

 

The strength of these partnerships has the ability to transform the role of vehicle ownership in the future, with the introduction of new technologies that will allow EVs to serve as mobile power suppliers to feed energy back to consumers, homes, businesses or even the grid. 

 

In bolstering this EV ecosystem, I am proud to be working on the front lines of this new era of mobility, and the opportunities this represents for Thailand. If the current momentum in building the EV ecosystem via public-private partnerships continues, Thailand is set to become a leader in the region during this new chapter of mobility, demonstrating how this technology can improve the well-being of citizens against the challenges of urbanisation through a host of benefits, including reduced noise and air pollution.

 

For me, building the future we hope for ourselves today and for generations to come, motivates me to work every day to advance our future mobility, one that is indeed smart, electric and good for everyone.

 

 

Ramesh Narasimhan is the president of Nissan Motor Thailand.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/opinion/30374127

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-03

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[madhav]

Thailand has a long long way to go if they want to join any EV trend. There are basically no government incentives or penalties at all. Not for the consumer or the manufacturer. Lets make a comparison to Norway and China.

 

The Norwegian EV incentives:

• No purchase/import taxes (1990-)
• Exemption from VAT on purchase (2001-)
• No annual road tax (1996-)
• No charges on toll roads or ferries (1997- 2017).
• Maximum 50% of the total amount on ferry fares for electric vehicles (2018-)
• Maximum 50% of the total amount on toll roads (2019)
• Free municipal parking (1999- 2017)
• Parking fee for EVs was introduced locally with an upper limit of a maximum 50% of the full price (2018-)
• Access to bus lanes (2005-).
• New rules allow local authorities to limit the access to only include EVs that carry one or more passengers (2016)
• 50 % reduced company car tax (2000-2018).
• Company car tax reduction reduced to 40% (2018-)
• Exemption from 25% VAT on leasing (2015)
• Fiscal compensation for the scrapping of fossil vans when converting to a zero-emission van (2018)
• Allowing holders of driver licence class B to drive electric vans class C1 (light lorries) up to 4250 kg (2019) 

 

Let’s look at China and their policies towards car manufacturers. As we know Thailand manufactures a lot of cars:

 

China recently introduced a dual-credit regulatory system, which rewards or penalizes manufacturers with positive or negative credits based on their car models’ fuel consumption and driving range. The system awards more positive credits to BEVs than to PHEVs: the BEVs get two to six credits based on driving range, while PHEVs receive only two credits regardless of driving range. The system gives a complex formula to calculate the credits for all vehicles, and vehicles with a great environmental impact are likely to end up with negative balances.

Under this new dual-credit system, if an automaker does not produce any EVs, then it will have to purchase credits from other automakers through a credit-trading system. If any automaker ends up with a negative credit balance, in the most severe cases it might be penalized by being ordered to halt their production of vehicles with high fuel consumption.

 

 

So what does Thailand offer in comparison?

 

Basically nothing and in reality the complete opposite. No monetary incentives, huge import taxes on EV cars (80%) plus VAT and other fees. Nothing remotely attractive for purchase that is built locally so the only option is import at very unattractive prices. 

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by madhav

[unamazedloso]

Great, last country in the world by the looks of it! 

[Krataiboy]

Another "commercial" masquerading as editorial. Hope the Nation gets the fat advertising contract it is obviously fishing for.

 

The only thing Nissan, like the rest of the corporate sector, is "passionate" about is cashing in on the so-called Green Revolution with an alleged "solution" to the mythical imminent climate apocalypse.

 

Somebody needs to explain to Nissan that in the post-fossil-fuels paradise envisioned by the prophets of doom, none of us prols will actually own a car, house - or anything else. Everything, according to the Swedish feminist nutjob Minister featured in this video will be rented and shared.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRybM76qx6I

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by Krataiboy

[thequietman]

No, it will be dumb, diesel and noisy for the foreseeable future.

 

This government or any Thai government lacks the backbone to implement any of these ideas. Once again all bluster for show and nothing else.

[Thingamabob]

Where are we going to find, and then transport, all the lithium and cobalt to the factories where batteries are made ? The batteries will then be carried to where the cars are assembled, and then somehow disposed of when they eventually expire. This process causes pollution and generates an enormous carbon footprint. Why does nobody ever talk about this ?

[Peterw42]

What good are electric cars when the electricity to charge them comes from greenhouse gas producing fossil fuel power stations. It just moves the problem from the car to the power station.

Maybe look at green/sustainable power before pushing electric cars.

[Charlesed]

Not sure if the guy really believes that this will ever happen in Thailand. 

[justin case]

maybe in 100 years

 

as now cars / buses / trucks with black plumes of toxic exhaust,  loud noise etc...

[Number 6]

Future for Thailand is NGV for which it has lots of and biodiesel if it ever gets it shit together and burn the rubbish in the fields each year properly instead of allowing farmers to set their fields ablaze.

[brain150]

When did electric cars become friendly to the environment ?

... so much nonsense. It's hard to believe that people fall for this.

 

It's like saying CO2 causes climate change ... hilarious !!! [And against quite many laws of physics]

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The future of mobility in Thailand is smart, electric and quiet

Only if you have a healthy bank balance & not in a wheelchair !

[Dumbastheycome]

18 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

What good are electric cars when the electricity to charge them comes from greenhouse gas producing fossil fuel power stations. It just moves the problem from the car to the power station.

Maybe look at green/sustainable power before pushing electric cars.

In one sense you are right. But given electric motors are 2 times more efficient than fossil fueled engines there is an advantage in terms of greenhouse gases. Unfortunately the greater immediate and long term soil pollution in the production of solar panels, batteries and even wind turbines is high.

The now impossible but better long term solution would  be the reversing of the proliferation of private vehicles in favor of networks of mass transit systems.

[Darkside Gray]

Where is all the power to drive these vehicles coming from?