Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[HighPriority]

2 hours ago, BenStark said:

 

Oh, the first service, which was free on about every ICE vehicle I have purchased in my life, was also free on your EV, and you think that is worth an argument?

 

** insult removed by moderator

8 years…?

Edited February 3 by Mike Lister
removed insult

[Bandersnatch]

The BYD Seal does come with 8 years of completely free servicing (see below)

 

However the main point for me is watching the technician walking round the car with a clipboard  - he wasn’t doing any servicing. So even if you were paying for a service on your EV it’s definitely going to be cheaper than an ice car.

 

 

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Dolphin still leading the EV charge in Jan 2024 with Seal hot on its heels ( flippers ? )

EV registrations in Jan 2024 accounted for 20.5% of all vehicles registrations.

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/register-ev-bev-thailand-jan-2024/

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

18 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Dolphin still leading the EV charge in Jan 2024 with Seal hot on its heels ( flippers ? )

EV registrations in Jan 2024 accounted for 20.5% of all vehicles registrations.

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/register-ev-bev-thailand-jan-2024/

 

 

 

 

Why would anyone buy the bZ4x?  dealer registrations maybe.

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Why would anyone buy the bZ4x?  dealer registrations maybe.

Maybe they liked it? 

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

31 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Maybe they liked it? 

 

 

 

Maybe but it doesn’t stack up against what is available here.

[Yellowtail]

30 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Maybe but it doesn’t stack up against what is available here.

That's hilarious. Not everyone is concerned about buying the absolute cheapest thing, or the best value, or the lowest ten-year cost of ownership, which nine out of ten people won't calculate, 

[sputnik22k]

Another option in the pipeline, Kia will launch the (massive) EV9 SUV here next month. Press event on 1st March.

https://autostation.com/cars/kia-ev9-2024-coming-in-thailand/

 

<Translated from link>

The Standard model is equipped with a single electric motor that produces 215 horsepower and 350 Newton meters of torque, providing acceleration from 0-100 km/hr in 8.2 seconds with a 76.1kWh battery. Fully charged, can run 480 km. ( WLTP )

The RWD Long Range model will have a larger battery size, with a capacity of 99.8kWh. A single full charge can run a distance of 541 km ( WLTP ). As for the size of the electric motor, it will have less power and will give Power is 201 horsepower, torque is the same as in the Standard version at 350 Newton meters, while acceleration is 9.4 seconds.  

Performance Dual Motor AWD model that comes with 2 electric motors, 4-wheel drive AWD that produces up to 380 horsepower and 600 Newton meters of torque, providing acceleration of 0-100 km/hr within 6.0 seconds. Comes with a battery size of 99.8 kWh, fully charged can run up to 516 km ( WLTP )

 

Wonder what the price tag will be like...?

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

That's hilarious. Not everyone is concerned about buying the absolute cheapest thing, or the best value, or the lowest ten-year cost of ownership, which nine out of ten people won't calculate, 

 

 

Maybe you are not familiar Toyota's bZ4X but it has had a few problems

 

Toyota finally found a way to keep wheels from falling off its electric SUV

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/06/business/toyota-bz4x-wheel-fix/index.html

 

The Toyota travelled only 307km (191 miles) – way short of the car's 470km (292 miles) stated range on the WLTP cycle. Tester Fred Magne Skillebaek was so shocked he repeated the test – with much the same result.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/first-official-pictures/toyota/bz4x/

 

[JBChiangRai]

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

That's hilarious. Not everyone is concerned about buying the absolute cheapest thing, or the best value, or the lowest ten-year cost of ownership, which nine out of ten people won't calculate, 

I think most people balk at paying double for their car when they get nothing more, it’s not as if they are buying a luxury marque.

[JBChiangRai]

6 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

 

 

Maybe you are not familiar Toyota's bZ4X but it has had a few problems

 

Toyota finally found a way to keep wheels from falling off its electric SUV

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/06/business/toyota-bz4x-wheel-fix/index.html

 

The Toyota travelled only 307km (191 miles) – way short of the car's 470km (292 miles) stated range on the WLTP cycle. Tester Fred Magne Skillebaek was so shocked he repeated the test – with much the same result.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/first-official-pictures/toyota/bz4x/

 

I don’t know about their inverter and motor, but the batteries are from BYD.

[mistral53]

Is this just a seasonal outlier or is Tesla really so far off the charts now?

[Gweiloman]

4 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Maybe they liked it? 

 

 

 

Possible, there’s no accounting for taste. It’s like paying double for a bargirl from Pattaya when you can get a model from Pegasus for half the price.

[HighPriority]

43 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think most people balk at paying double for their car when they get nothing more, it’s not as if they are buying a luxury marque.

I usually search for the worst assembled, lowest spec car I can find and if it costs more than its competitors that’s just a bonus 🤦🏼‍♂️

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

 

 

Maybe you are not familiar Toyota's bZ4X but it has had a few problems

 

Toyota finally found a way to keep wheels from falling off its electric SUV

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/06/business/toyota-bz4x-wheel-fix/index.html

 

The Toyota travelled only 307km (191 miles) – way short of the car's 470km (292 miles) stated range on the WLTP cycle. Tester Fred Magne Skillebaek was so shocked he repeated the test – with much the same result.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/first-official-pictures/toyota/bz4x/

 

Aside from nothing, what does that have to do with what I said? 

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think most people balk at paying double for their car when they get nothing more, it’s not as if they are buying a luxury marque.

 They don't balk at paying five times as much for a logo tee-shirt. 

 

[Bandersnatch]

3 hours ago, mistral53 said:

Is this just a seasonal outlier or is Tesla really so far off the charts now?

 

As Tesla started selling cars in Thailand at the end of 2022, their Y2Date figures for 2023 looked good compared to EVs that went on sale later in the year.

 

Now all that is stripped out we see month 1 figures of about 8,000 cars for BYD and about 50 for Tesla.

 

Looks like all those who really wanted wanted a Tesla have already bought one.

 

Or maybe everyone is waiting for the Juniper Model Y

[Pib]

9 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Dolphin still leading the EV charge in Jan 2024 with Seal hot on its heels ( flippers ? )

EV registrations in Jan 2024 accounted for 20.5% of all vehicles registrations.

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/register-ev-bev-thailand-jan-2024/

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of things caught my eye regarding Jan 2024 BEV registrations:

 

1.  BYD accounted for 46% of all Thailand BEV sales....people like BYD.

2.  The BYD Dolphin and Seal sales numbers seemed really high....very poplar EVs right now and maybe a case of end of year sales finally clearing the registration process. 

3.  The Ora Good Cats Jan sales of only 253 really dropped off compared to their 2023 monthly sales average (see their 2023 sales below)

4.  The Toyota bZ4Z (which has had its problems) Jan sales of 66 was more than all of their 2023 sales (60).   Did Toyota have a clearance sale on this model?   I wonder if that Jan number is correct?  

5.  1 out of 5 vehicles sold was a BEV....a pretty awesome stat IMO.

 

Jan - Dec 2023 Sales

[mistral53]

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Possible, there’s no accounting for taste. It’s like paying double for a bargirl from Pattaya when you can get a model from Pegasus for half the price.

At least this is a common denominator all males are experts in............. unlike electric cars!  😂🤣

[Andrew Dwyer]

9 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

4.  The Toyota bZ4Z (which has had its problems) Jan sales of 66 was more than all of their 2023 sales (60).   Did Toyota have a clearance sale on this model?   I wonder if that Jan number is correct?  

 

 

Don’t see any price reduction for the bz4x .

At 1.836 million baht I was also surprised to see it selling that many .

 

https://stores.toyota.co.th/register/bz4x

[Pib]

BYD Thailand is really growing fast.   On the Rever Automotive (basically HQ BYD Thailand) they now show 101 dealerships in Thailand.  When I started getting serious about buying an EV in mid 2023 below webpage showed approx 60 dealerships. 

 

A new BYD dealership open just a few months ago close to me here in western Bangkok....the dealership bought out the Mazada dealership at this particular location...one day there was a Mazada sign on the building; the next day a BYD sign.

 

BYD Dealerships in Thailand

https://www.reverautomotive.com/en/locator/dealer-station

[Andrew Dwyer]

9 minutes ago, Pib said:

BYD Thailand is really growing fast.   On the Rever Automotive (basically HQ BYD Thailand) they now show 101 dealerships in Thailand.  When I started getting serious about buying an EV in mid 2023 below webpage showed approx 60 dealerships. 

 

A new BYD dealership open just a few months ago close to me here in western Bangkok....the dealership bought out the Mazada dealership at this particular location...one day there was a Mazada sign on the building; the next day a BYD sign.

 

BYD Dealerships in Thailand

https://www.reverautomotive.com/en/locator/dealer-station

My nearest BYD dealership is 18km , but another (5 km away) is due to be completed soon, when it was announced I contacted them on Line to enquire when it would be up and running “ end of April “ they told me……. April 2023 !!

It’s in a strange location right in downtown Ayutthaya and attached to a Susco gas station as a few are in this area.

[Yellowtail]

I think there are three withing 1 km of me

[KhunLA]

4 hours ago, mistral53 said:

At least this is a common denominator all males are experts in............. unlike electric cars!  😂🤣

Apparently not, or they wouldn't have to pay at all 

 

On topic ... competition is a beautiful thing.  Tesla, Ora Good Cat and selective MGs taking a back seat to BYD's line up.

[Bandersnatch]

“Registration of 100% electric cars in Thailand in January 2024 total 13,653 cars.

 

The ratio of 20.5 % of all new cars across the country 65,067 cars” 

https://autolifethailand.tv/register-ev-bev-thailand-jan-2024/

 

Not sure I agree with their maths,  closer to 20.9% (21%) than 20.5%, but feel free to correct my pre-coffee calculations.

 

AutoLifeThailand quoted 25% of all vehicles sold in December as full EVs. I thought this might have been inflated due to concerns about the removal of EV subsidies so good to see EV numbers are still strong.

 

 

On a side note I am currently powering my house 100% from my BYD Seal  - that never gets old.

 

 

[BKKBike09]

10 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

My nearest BYD dealership is 18km , but another (5 km away) is due to be completed soon, when it was announced I contacted them on Line to enquire when it would be up and running “ end of April “ they told me……. April 2023 !!

It’s in a strange location right in downtown Ayutthaya and attached to a Susco gas station as a few are in this area.

 

A point to note is that not all BYD dealerships have accident repair facilities. So if you ever have a fender bender repair might be a little more involved than say with a Jap car.

 

After some dozy tw@t rear-ended the Atto last month, the dealer I bought from in BKK originally wanted me to take it to their repair shop in Pathum Thani, 40km or so from where I live. Ended up taking it to another BYD dealership in Ramkamhaeng Soi 5,263 or something (BYD CG near Ram 150'ish) - still about 20 km from home. 

 

However, they did a good job of repairing. It was a heavy shunt.  

[BKKBike09]

On 2/3/2024 at 6:05 PM, Bandersnatch said:

The BYD Seal does come with 8 years of completely free servicing (see below)

 

 

The servicing isn't free if you miss the interval by more than a month. Meaning if 12-month service is due on 15 Jan, you have until 15 Feb to get it done free. Can also take it in up to a month early. Outside that, it's paid (not that the cost is very high).

 

It can also be a bit of a palaver to get a service appointment, compared to Honda, say. With Honda I'd always just ring them and say 'I want to bring car in on X day to be serviced' and that was that. With BYD (2 dealerships) I was told next available date was in a week, on a weekday. Not a big issue but I can see certain dealerships getting very busy as they sell more and more cars.

[Andrew Dwyer]

9 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

 

A point to note is that not all BYD dealerships have accident repair facilities. So if you ever have a fender bender repair might be a little more involved than say with a Jap car.

 

After some dozy tw@t rear-ended the Atto last month, the dealer I bought from in BKK originally wanted me to take it to their repair shop in Pathum Thani, 40km or so from where I live. Ended up taking it to another BYD dealership in Ramkamhaeng Soi 5,263 or something (BYD CG near Ram 150'ish) - still about 20 km from home. 

 

However, they did a good job of repairing. It was a heavy shunt.  

The dealership being built now in downtown Ayutthaya appears to have a tiny plot adjacent to the gas station ( which is Esso but with a tiny Susco sign also ? ) and since the plot was prepared, almost a year now, I have always wondered why it is so small.

 The dealership I bought from, right on the border of Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, has a small lounge and workshop, probably capable of 4 cars at any one time.

 

The bulk of the dealerships here are on the frontage road next to the Asia Highway and probably premium prices, although BMW/Mini are constructing.

Like you say, BYD have probably decided to flood the country with dealerships but not all are capable of any major repairs.

[sathornlover]

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

17 minutes ago, sathornlover said:

 

While Sam’s videos are “ interesting “, here he is just stating the facts from the Autolifethailand website already posted here, sometimes he lets himself down:

” when I was in Thailand I saw 12 Atto 3’s in a row !! “ ……. did you ….. did you really Sam ??