Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[JBChiangRai]

2 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Put down a deposit already on the standard range Dolphin but will probably upgrade to the extended range.

 

 

I think that's a very wise move.

[GroveHillWanderer]

6 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Oh, I've known all along, it the guys that claim hanging around a pump waiting for the car to charge is some kind of benefit that amuse me. 

I don't think I've ever seen anyone claim that. Can you provide examples?

 

What people do say is that if you're driving for long distances/long periods (especially with family) you're probably going to have to stop every few hours anyway for food/toilet breaks and these "natural" driving breaks would probably be for about as long as a charging top-up would take.

 

I don't have an EV but whenever I drive long distances (which I never do without at least a couple of family members along for the ride) there are always regular breaks of about half an hour to 45 mins at multiple points along the way.

[lapswim]

5 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

100% agree. I have a PHEV In which I’ve made two trips to Malaysia (total mileage 10k km) in the last 4 months. No issues whatsoever. Fast charge when I can, slow charge at destination and petrol in between. Put down a deposit already on the standard range Dolphin but will probably upgrade to the extended range.

 

 

Much better than a BEV. Malaysia appears to have very cheap petrol and Thailand's power seems to be basically derived from Liquid Petroleum Gas. So the pricing equation is determined by Governments' Power Pricing, Car Industry and excise policies. Government needs to get out of the way of economics, look what happened with the excise sales rate mandating diesel pickups, a 2.5 PPM particulate catastrophe.

[lapswim]

What we need is a transport equalisation tax to create subsidy/excise equity between ICEs and BEVs in Thailand. That is an equal excise on purchase price excise, electricity used for vehicles and a pollution requirement on power stations using fossil fuels to make electricity equivalent to the Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles requirements . 

Edited July 10, 2023 by Pink Mist
Moderation comment removed as quote

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[Gweiloman]

4 hours ago, lapswim said:

Much better than a BEV. Malaysia appears to have very cheap petrol and Thailand's power seems to be basically derived from Liquid Petroleum Gas. So the pricing equation is determined by Governments' Power Pricing, Car Industry and excise policies. Government needs to get out of the way of economics, look what happened with the excise sales rate mandating diesel pickups, a 2.5 PPM particulate catastrophe.

A very moot and interesting point. Ron 95 in Malaysia is approximately Thb14 per litre. However, a foreign registered vehicle is not allowed to fuel up with this. It can only be fuelled up with Ron 97 which is approximately Thb25 per litre. Having said that, I have always been able to fuel up with the cheaper Ron 95 (don’t ask). Petrol is heavily subsidised in Malaysia. Thus take up of EVs has been slow and the charging network is nowhere comparable to Thailand.

 

 I don’t see petrol prices coming down in Thailand anytime soon and those for whom an EV is practical (ie home charging capable. Infrequent long trips) having an EV is a no brainer. 

[Bandersnatch]

Why don’t Tesla cars benefit from government EV incentives in Thailand?

 

According to the BoI, Tesla is not participating in the government's EV incentive package, which grants excise tax cuts and subsidies to promote EV production and consumption in 2022 and 2023. Participating companies are committed to starting to produce EVs in Thailand from 2024

Tesla is in talks with the Indonesian government on the possibility of investing there and not Thailand as Indonesia has abundant supplies of nickel, a key component in lithium batteries.

 

 

 

 

[mistral53]

On 7/9/2023 at 5:30 PM, GroveHillWanderer said:

I don't think I've ever seen anyone claim that. Can you provide examples?

 

What people do say is that if you're driving for long distances/long periods (especially with family) you're probably going to have to stop every few hours anyway for food/toilet breaks and these "natural" driving breaks would probably be for about as long as a charging top-up would take.

 

I don't have an EV but whenever I drive long distances (which I never do without at least a couple of family members along for the ride) there are always regular breaks of about half an hour to 45 mins at multiple points along the way.

BEV mobility is simply not yet assured with the Swiss cheese charging network presently in operation in Thailand. One aspect easily forgotten in in such a discussion is the possible wait for an available charger. Solution: Reservations are needed to get access to a charger - and that is the most hare-brained nonsense I have heard in regards to BEV mobility: Imagine you need to make a reservation a day or more in advance to refuel a regular car!

 

For the doubters, just read some Thai BEV chat groups to comprehend the consequences - and all this is with an insignificant number of BEVs in operation, scaling it up will no doubt make this into a tragedy someday as out of control BEV owners at some point will lose their cool, and use pitch forks and tire irons to get to their reservations........

 

The real solution is an over-saturation of very powerful high Amp chargers - who wants to bet how far in the future that point is reached in Thailand? 20 years? 35 years........50 years? Thailand is PHEV country for the next 20 years.

[KhunLA]

7 hours ago, mistral53 said:

BEV mobility is simply not yet assured with the Swiss cheese charging network presently in operation in Thailand. One aspect easily forgotten in in such a discussion is the possible wait for an available charger. Solution: Reservations are needed to get access to a charger - and that is the most hare-brained nonsense I have heard in regards to BEV mobility: Imagine you need to make a reservation a day or more in advance to refuel a regular car!

 

For the doubters, just read some Thai BEV chat groups to comprehend the consequences - and all this is with an insignificant number of BEVs in operation, scaling it up will no doubt make this into a tragedy someday as out of control BEV owners at some point will lose their cool, and use pitch forks and tire irons to get to their reservations........

 

The real solution is an over-saturation of very powerful high Amp chargers - who wants to bet how far in the future that point is reached in Thailand? 20 years? 35 years........50 years? Thailand is PHEV country for the next 20 years.

Q'ing & reservation is only for the O&A crowd, going more than 125 kms away from home on a constant basis, and few do that.  Minimal planning or inconvenience for the savings and performance a BEV provides.

 

As stated repeated ... EVs (BEVs) aren't for everyone.  But fit perfectly in our lifestyle & wallet.

 

We're out O&A more than most, and yet to have a problem, or see one in the future, my lifetime any way.

 

To coin a phrase ... "If you like your ICE, you can keep your ICE" ????

[Issanman]

China-led EV boom in Thailand threatens Japan's grip on key market

[KhunLA]

Thankfully, because the Japanese manufacturers really take the piss with pricing here.  Made in TH entry level are ฿550k-800+k, that's nuts.  Imports even sillier, ฿1M & up.   And it's not all added taxes.

[Bandersnatch]

Great Price:

 

 

Great Car:

 

 

Great Deal:

 

 

[matchar]

3 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Great Price:

 

 

Great Car:

 

 

Great Deal:

 

 

Now that promotion is a dolphin killer.

 

Competition is only a good thing for consumers.

[KhunLA]

For those interested in MG BEV line-up, aside from styling, there really isn't much of a difference.  Not sure about the electronics, little options, but drivetrain, fairly the same.

 

ES is simply and updated EP.  ZS is their SUV (short), and MG4 looking a bit sportier.

 

[vinny41]

Australia’s cheapest electric SUV to be axed: MG ZS EV

The MG ZS EV Excite – the most affordable electric SUV in Australia – will be discontinued later this year with the arrival of the new MG 4 electric hatch.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/mg-zs-ev-excite-to-be-axed/

 

Not sure why ZS EV is being discontinued isn't ZS EV and MG4 aimed at different customers SUV vs hatchback

[Sophon]

3 hours ago, vinny41 said:

Australia’s cheapest electric SUV to be axed: MG ZS EV

The MG ZS EV Excite – the most affordable electric SUV in Australia – will be discontinued later this year with the arrival of the new MG 4 electric hatch.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/mg-zs-ev-excite-to-be-axed/

 

Not sure why ZS EV is being discontinued isn't ZS EV and MG4 aimed at different customers SUV vs hatchback

They are not discontinuing the MG ZS EV, they are just eliminating the cheapest version.

Quote

More expensive Essence ($47,990 plus on-road costs, or $49,284 to $52,701 drive-away) and Long Range ($55,990 plus on-road costs, or $57,284 to $61,367 drive-away) versions of the ZS EV will remain available.

 

[Yellowtail]

9 hours ago, matchar said:

Now that promotion is a dolphin killer.

 

Competition is only a good thing for consumers.

No, it's a good thing for almost everyone. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Okay, so not really Thailand related but does go a long way to explain the current thinking in designing an EV, an interesting video imho.

Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want a frunk that size !!

 

 

[Melpomene]

On 6/29/2023 at 11:23 AM, firefly17 said:

Decided against purchasing a C40 after researching range figures on various YouTube tests. Much higher consumption per mile than anything else. Not sure how Volvo can claim 'up to 590km'. It's just so far from the truth. Wd be lucky to see 375km in normal driving, as for motorway driving, it's around 250km.

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.

 

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

9 hours ago, KhunLA said:

For those interested in MG BEV line-up, aside from styling, there really isn't much of a difference.  Not sure about the electronics, little options, but drivetrain, fairly the same.

 

I don't know anything about the ZS, but there is a huge difference in the way the EP and MG4 drive.  We have both, my daughter loves her EP and wouldn't swap it for my MG4 & I feel the same about my MG4.  

 

The EP is front wheel drive and softly sprung, it's a fantastic car on a long distance journey, especially for passengers, but it's not sporty and has understeers on the limit.

 

The MG4 is rear wheel drive and firmly sprung with a 50/50 weight distribution, very much a sporty hot hatchback and I've had it on the limit a couple of times.  The limit is very high and slight oversteer.  I do drive spiritedly, but I don't like high speed.  It's not as comfortable for passengers, it's very much a driver's car.

[KhunLA]

35 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I don't know anything about the ZS, but there is a huge difference in the way the EP and MG4 drive.  We have both, my daughter loves her EP and wouldn't swap it for my MG4 & I feel the same about my MG4.  

 

The EP is front wheel drive and softly sprung, it's a fantastic car on a long distance journey, especially for passengers, but it's not sporty and has understeers on the limit.

 

The MG4 is rear wheel drive and firmly sprung with a 50/50 weight distribution, very much a sporty hot hatchback and I've had it on the limit a couple of times.  The limit is very high and slight oversteer.  I do drive spiritedly, but I don't like high speed.  It's not as comfortable for passengers, it's very much a driver's car.

ZS is straight up 'performing' family car, though fun to drive, I wouldn't try any drifting in it ????

[matchar]

Have any MG4 owners here looked at the undertray? There seems to be a minor defect:

https://www.mgevs.com/threads/mg4-undertray-dip-bulge.7796/

Edited July 12, 2023 by matchar

[JBChiangRai]

58 minutes ago, matchar said:

Have any MG4 owners here looked at the undertray? There seems to be a minor defect:

https://www.mgevs.com/threads/mg4-undertray-dip-bulge.7796/

I haven't checked mine, but I will have a look when I'm ready for my next round of DIY, I'm recovering from turning a small leak in the ball valve of my water tank to completely destroying the new one by over tightening it, I knew I should have left it to a professional.

[JBChiangRai]

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

ZS is straight up 'performing' family car, though fun to drive, I wouldn't try any drifting in it ????

Gone are the days when you used to get a special handle for handbrake turns, shame!

[Gweiloman]

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Gone are the days when you used to get a special handle for handbrake turns, shame!

I did a bit of motorkhana in my uni days. I drilled a hole in my handbrake handle and stuck a screw through it in order to prevent the spring from automatically engaging the handbrake when I had to jerk on it. Those who used to do handbrake turns will know what I mean.

[Yellowtail]

24 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I did a bit of motorkhana in my uni days. I drilled a hole in my handbrake handle and stuck a screw through it in order to prevent the spring from automatically engaging the handbrake when I had to jerk on it. Those who used to do handbrake turns will know what I mean.

AKA Bootlegger turn...

[Bandersnatch]

“EVs are boring”

 

Anybody else heard this from a petrol head? Well now you can point them to the Hyundai ionic 5N

 

The ionic 5&6 are coming to Thailand this year, let’s hope we get 5N as well

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

20 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

“EVs are boring”

 

Anybody else heard this from a petrol head? Well now you can point them to the Hyundai ionic 5N

 

The ionic 5&6 are coming to Thailand this year, let’s hope we get 5N as well

 

 

The price of the ionic 5N in the UK is likely to be about £65,000 ฿3,000,000.

 

If you want a similar 0-100kph then the UK price of the MG4 XPower is £36,500 ฿1,650,000

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

Comparing UK prices between the different variations of the MG4, I think the X Power should be 1.3M baht here.

 

I went to the showroom yesterday, they said the X Power may come next year.

[Bandersnatch]

Tesla really needs to do something about the glass roof for Asia markets. 

 

This is not a good look for them