Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[HighPriority]

Must be fake news.

Many of our good friends in this place have told us that ev just don’t work, let alone when it’s chilly…

🤦🏼‍♂️

[Yellowtail]

  On 2/8/2024 at 12:35 PM, HighPriority said:

Must be fake news.

Many of our good friends in this place have told us that ev just don’t work, let alone when it’s chilly…

🤦🏼‍♂️

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Do you think they let them sit outside the week before the testing? 

[mistral53]

Does anybody plan on visiting the Bangkok EV Expo. touted as 'The very first electric vehicles exhibition in Thailand'?

 

Feb 8 to 11.

 

https://www.bangkokevexpo.com/

[KhunLA]

  On 2/8/2024 at 4:55 PM, mistral53 said:

Does anybody plan on visiting the Bangkok EV Expo. touted as 'The very first electric vehicles exhibition in Thailand'?

 

Feb 8 to 11.

 

https://www.bangkokevexpo.com/

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Nah ... already have, so no need to look at things I'm not going to buy.

[JBChiangRai]

  On 2/8/2024 at 12:35 PM, HighPriority said:

Must be fake news.

Many of our good friends in this place have told us that ev just don’t work, let alone when it’s chilly…

🤦🏼‍♂️

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From what I have read, you mustn't discharge the battery below a certain point when it's cold as you need to run the heat pump to warm the battery before you can drive it or charge it.  Fail to do that and you better wait till the weather gets warmer as you're going nowhere.

[Rimmer]

Off topic post and reply has been removed

[Andrew Dwyer]

Hopefully they are custard !

 

[brewsterbudgen]

Potential EV newbie here:

 

• Is having an at-home charger essential?
• How much does at-home charging add to the domestic electricity bill?
• Are there numerous charging points all over Thailand?
• How much does it cost to charge at a public charging point?
• For a budget customer, is BYD the way to go?

 

[JBChiangRai]

  On 2/15/2024 at 4:00 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Potential EV newbie here:

 

• Is having an at-home charger essential?
• How much does at-home charging add to the domestic electricity bill?
• Are there numerous charging points all over Thailand?
• How much does it cost to charge at a public charging point?
• For a budget customer, is BYD the way to go?

 

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A home charging point is desirable, but not essential, if overnight charging you can cope with the portable device they give you plugged into a normal outlet.

 

Your electricity bill will go up by about a 20%-25% of what you would normally spend on petrol.

 

Lots of charging points in Thailand, public charging points could be anything between roughly the same and double, you could spend more but you don't need to.

 

There are 4 budget EV's I would like at and test driving them is vital.  Neta V at 499k, MG4 and BYD Dolphin and MG EP+ at 771k if you want a big car.  They all drive superbly, but differently so it will come to personal choice.

[Andrew Dwyer]

  On 2/15/2024 at 4:00 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Potential EV newbie here:

 

• Is having an at-home charger essential?
• How much does at-home charging add to the domestic electricity bill?
• Are there numerous charging points all over Thailand?
• How much does it cost to charge at a public charging point?
• For a budget customer, is BYD the way to go?

 

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. Not essential to have a wall charger at home if have a socket nearby ( use the supplied granny/emergency charger ).

. If living in a condo then it is doable but be prepared to spend time waiting for charging outside.

It all depends how much charging/driving you do as to how much is added.

. Adequate charging points all over Thailand, avoid travelling on busy holidays ( Songkran, New Year ) or prepare adequately by reservation.

. Tariffs at public chargers vary:

Gas stations being the cheapest at 5.50 baht kWh off peak times ( nights and weekends/holidays ) which is relative to your home electricity tariffs. 7.5/8.0 baht at peak times.

Malls, Hotels and restaurants etc will have a premium price of 8.0/10.0 baht per kWh.

. In general charging an EV will cost you anywhere from 0.50 to 1 baht per km whereas an ICE car anywhere from 2.0/2.5 baht per km ( depending on charging and driving habits ).

. BYD currently have a wider range of EV’s available than other manufacturers but there are ev’s to suit all budgets.

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

Choosing the "coolest" EV for the hot conditions of Thailand is important.

 

So is a BYD Seal cooler than a Tesla model Y?

 

 

 

 

 

The results are very similar to the when I tested the BYD Seal

 

 

 

[Pib]

  On 2/15/2024 at 4:00 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Potential EV newbie here:

 

• Is having an at-home charger essential?
• How much does at-home charging add to the domestic electricity bill?
• Are there numerous charging points all over Thailand?
• How much does it cost to charge at a public charging point?
• For a budget customer, is BYD the way to go?

 

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- Not essential but very desirable.  Makes charging your EV as easy as charging your smartphone at home.

 

- Depends on how much EV charging you need to do....and how much you need to charge depends on how much you drive the EV....it's not like it's a set amount charged each month.  If you have your residence PEA/MEA electric service in your own name vs paying some inflated landlord electricity price, you will be paying approx 5 baht (actually a little less) for each additional KWH you use to charge your EV.   Now I know that still probably does not mean much to you because you also need to know how many kilometers your EV gets per 1KWH used.   But I'm here to tell you it's a lot less than what you will be paying for fossil fuel per kilometer driven. Like in my case I have a 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel which gets 10.4Km/liter and a BYD Atto 3.  For the same kilometers driven the Atto is 77% cheaper fuel cost wise to drive than the Fortuner.  See partial snapshot at bottom from a personal spreadsheet I have comparing fuel costs between my ICEV an EV.  Now if you don't have a wall charger and must use a commercial charge you will be paying in the Bt5.5 to Bt9.5/KWH ballpark....still cheaper than fossil fuel...plus, you need to spend time at the charger.

 

-  Lots of charging points....now in rural parts of Thailand the chargers are few but in cities/towns, especially the larger towns, there are plenty of chargers.

 

- Bt5.5 to 9.5....it varies depending on the charging company.  PEA chargers are usually the cheapest.

 

-  BYD is good but other EVs like the Neta, Ora Good Cat, etc., are good also.  LOTS (and more everyday) of BYD dealerships.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

  On 2/15/2024 at 7:49 AM, Pib said:

- Not essential but very desirable.  Makes charging your EV as easy as charging your smartphone at home.

 

- Depends on how much EV charging you need to do....and how much you need to charge depends on how much you drive the EV....it's not like it's a set amount charged each month.  If you have your residence PEA/MEA electric service in your own name vs paying some inflated landlord electricity price, you will be paying approx 5 baht (actually a little less) for each additional KWH you use to charge your EV.   Now I know that still probably does not mean much to you because you also need to know how many kilometers your EV gets per 1KWH used.   But I'm here to tell you it's a lot less than what you will be paying for fossil fuel per kilometer driven. Like in my case I have a 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel which gets 10.4Km/liter and a BYD Atto 3.  For the same kilometers driven the Atto is 77% cheaper fuel cost wise to drive than the Fortuner.  See partial snapshot at bottom from a personal spreadsheet I have comparing fuel costs between my ICEV an EV.  Now if you don't have a wall charger and must use a commercial charge you will be paying in the Bt5.5 to Bt9.5/KWH ballpark....still cheaper than fossil fuel...plus, you need to spend time at the charger.

 

-  Lots of charging points....now in rural parts of Thailand the chargers are few but in cities/towns, especially the larger towns, there are plenty of chargers.

 

- Bt5.5 to 9.5....it varies depending on the charging company.  PEA chargers are usually the cheapest.

 

-  BYD is good but other EVs like the Neta, Ora Good Cat, etc., are good also.  LOTS (and more everyday) of BYD dealerships.  

 

 

 

 

 

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I think the Atto 3 is more comparable size wise than it is to a Fortuner, so let's compare those two:

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Minor change coming for the Atto 3 (2024)

 

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/byd-atto3-my2024-ev-bev-thailand-22feb24/

 

Changes include :

New Cosmos Black exterior colour 

New Blue , with hints of Black, interior colour 

Possible dropping of the Standard model.

12.8” screen upgrades to 15.6”

Build Your Dreams logo becomes BYD.

[Pib]

  On 2/15/2024 at 10:59 AM, Yellowtail said:

I think the Atto 3 is more comparable size wise than it is to a Fortuner, so let's compare those two:

 

 

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Naw....little compact cars with large lawn mower petrol engines in them like the Mitsubishi Mirage is not my style.  

 

 

[Yellowtail]

  On 2/15/2024 at 12:01 PM, Pib said:

 

Naw....little compact cars with large lawn mower petrol engines in them like the Mitsubishi Mirage is not my style.  

 

 

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What gas-burner do you want to compare it to? 

[KhunLA]

  On 2/15/2024 at 10:59 AM, Yellowtail said:

I think the Atto 3 is more comparable size wise than it is to a Fortuner, so let's compare those two:

 

 

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Mirage (entry level POS) is way out classed by the Atto 3, not even close.

Mirage: 

,,, maxi output of 78 horsepower at 6,000 rpm

... peak torque of 100 NM at 4,000 rpm

Atto 3

,,,  201 hp

... torque of 310Nm.

 

Compare the Atto 3 to something at least close to the performance, or even the same size (dimensions).

Mirage ... H 1345mm, W 1585mm, L 3790mm

Atto 3 ... H 1615mm, W 1875mm, L 4455mm

[Pib]

  On 2/15/2024 at 12:13 PM, Yellowtail said:

What gas-burner do you want to compare it to? 

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I did my comparison between the two vehicle I have...the Fortuner diesel and the Atto electric...as I could do a very accurate comparison since I drive/fuel both vehicles.   That's all that was important to me....the vehicles I own and drive.   

 

Sure, you could do a cost comparison between any two vehicles of similar size you wanted....say a million baht vehicle or a half million baht vehicle....the half million baht vehicle is going to win in total cost of ownership simply because it cost a lot less to initially buy.....but it's highly unlikely that half million baht vehicle is going to be as nice, well built as the million baht vehicle. 

 

If a person is only interested in the pure transportation part/cost of getting from point A to B at the lowest possible cost then go with the cheapest petrol vehicle they can buy....or better yet maybe a Honda Wave 100cc motorcycle...the motorcycle shop may even include a free helmet and plastic rain suit.  Then again a person could go with a Neta V EV for $549K in lieu of buying a $509K petrol Mirage since those two vehicles seem to be of very similar size. 

[KhunLA]

  On 2/15/2024 at 12:31 PM, Pib said:

If a person is only interested in the pure transportation part/cost of getting from point A to B at the lowest possible cost then go with the cheapest petrol vehicle they can buy....or better yet maybe a Honda Wave 100cc motorcycle...the motorcycle shop may even include a free helmet and plastic rain suit.  Then again a person could go with a Neta V EV for $549K in lieu of buying a $509K petrol Mirage since those two vehicles seem to be of very similar size. 

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Even better, get one of the DECO E-MC, <30K baht, and charging no problem, as the battery is removable with the 1000w motors, and can charge in your condo/apartment.  Perfect for knocking around locally.  I don't even need a car locally, except if raining.

[Yellowtail]

  On 2/15/2024 at 12:28 PM, KhunLA said:

Mirage (entry level POS) is way out classed by the Atto 3, not even close.

Mirage: 

,,, maxi output of 78 horsepower at 6,000 rpm

... peak torque of 100 NM at 4,000 rpm

Atto 3

,,,  201 hp

... torque of 310Nm.

 

Compare the Atto 3 to something at least close to the performance, or even the same size (dimensions).

Mirage ... H 1345mm, W 1585mm, L 3790mm

Atto 3 ... H 1615mm, W 1875mm, L 4455mm

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As I remember, I ran the numbers with the MG EV you have vs the ICE version of the same model and the results were pretty similar. 

[vinny41]

  On 2/15/2024 at 11:01 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Minor change coming for the Atto 3 (2024)

 

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/byd-atto3-my2024-ev-bev-thailand-22feb24/

 

Changes include :

New Cosmos Black exterior colour 

New Blue , with hints of Black, interior colour 

Possible dropping of the Standard model.

12.8” screen upgrades to 15.6”

Build Your Dreams logo becomes BYD.

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It will be interesting to see if there is any price adjustment when they start building them in Thailand around June of this year

I think the Ora Good Cat GT Thailand version was B187,000 cheaper than the Chinese version

[KhunLA]

  On 2/15/2024 at 2:23 PM, Yellowtail said:

As I remember, I ran the numbers with the MG EV you have vs the ICE version of the same model and the results were pretty similar. 

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I can tell you almost exactly how much, since I owned both the MG ZS EV & ICE.

Local driving of 360 kms, kWh & petrol cost:

 

MG ZS EV / ICE
฿231 / ฿925  per 360 kms
 

EV using 46.3kwh @ ฿5 per kWh

... high #, as nobody pays that much

... ฿347 if have to use CS @ ฿7.5 per kWh

 

ICE using 25.71 L of 91 @ ฿36 per Liter

... less than yesterday's price

[Bandersnatch]

  On 2/15/2024 at 11:01 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Minor change coming for the Atto 3 (2024)

 

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/byd-atto3-my2024-ev-bev-thailand-22feb24/

 

Changes include :

New Cosmos Black exterior colour 

New Blue , with hints of Black, interior colour 

Possible dropping of the Standard model.

12.8” screen upgrades to 15.6”

Build Your Dreams logo becomes BYD.

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Black interior would make the atto 3 look more sensible 

[Andrew Dwyer]

  On 2/16/2024 at 12:26 AM, Bandersnatch said:

 

 

Black interior would make the atto 3 look more sensible 

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Yes, i was very close to ordering the Atto 3 but the funky interior put me off, much prefer the more sedate/stylish interior of the Seal.

[JBChiangRai]

  On 2/15/2024 at 10:59 AM, Yellowtail said:

I think the Atto 3 is more comparable size wise than it is to a Fortuner, so let's compare those two:

 

 

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I think the Mirage is closer to a Neta V, similar size and similar price, Mirage 509k and Neta 499K

 

Years to break even = 0

[mikebike]

The Atto 3 is about the same size as a BMW X3. Nowhere near Mirage size. 

[Gweiloman]

  On 2/15/2024 at 10:59 AM, Yellowtail said:

I think the Atto 3 is more comparable size wise than it is to a Fortuner, so let's compare those two:

 

 

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Many others have commented but you know the saying, apples and oranges? 

[KhunLA]

  On 2/16/2024 at 12:58 AM, JBChiangRai said:

 

I think the Mirage is closer to a Neta V, similar size and similar price, Mirage 509k and Neta 499K

 

Years to break even = 0

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The Neva V outclasses the Mirage, and isn't exactly small (relative).  Mirage really was a poor choice to compare to any EV, except the 'minis', and I'm not talking Mini Cooper.

 

Mirage ... 78 hp & 100 Nm

Neta V ... 94 hp & 150 Nm

 

Mirage ... H 1345mm, W 1585mm, L 3790mm

Neta V ... H 1540 mm, W 1690 mm, L 4070 mm

[Yellowtail]

  On 2/16/2024 at 1:52 AM, KhunLA said:

The Neva V outclasses the Mirage, and isn't exactly small.  Mirage really was a poor choice to compare to any EV, except the 'minis', and I'm not talking Mini Cooper.

 

Mirage ... 78 hp & 100 Nm

Neta V ... 94 hp & 150 Nm

 

Mirage ... H 1345mm, W 1585mm, L 3790mm

Neta V ... H 1540 mm, W 1690 mm, L 4070 mm

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As I remember, I ran the numbers with the MG EV you have vs the ICE version of the same model and the results were pretty similar. 

[JBChiangRai]

  On 2/16/2024 at 1:58 AM, Yellowtail said:

As I remember, I ran the numbers with the MG EV you have vs the ICE version of the same model and the results were pretty similar. 

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The Neta V is directly comparable to the Mitsubishi Mirage, similar price although the Neta V is bigger.

 

Give me that choice and I would take the Neta V in a heartbeat.