Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[sirineou]

  On 1/15/2024 at 12:21 AM, JBChiangRai said:

 

For me the biggest benefit is the way it drives.  It's a pleasure to be able to drive in silence, have the power to never get stuck behind any trucks or buses and arrive after a long drive as fresh as a daisy.

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Can you use your battery to run household alliances in the event of a blackout, or if too far from power outlets? I read that with many EVs that is an option now. 

[JBChiangRai]

  On 1/15/2024 at 12:25 AM, sirineou said:

Can you use your battery to run household alliances in the event of a blackout, or if too far from power outlets? I read that with many EVs that is an option now. 

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I could, I don't need to because I have nearly 30KWhrs of batteries with my solar system, they are only used for blackouts.  If my batteries fail, I will rig up an ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) and cable.

[sirineou]

  On 1/15/2024 at 12:32 AM, JBChiangRai said:

 

I could, I don't need to because I have nearly 30KWhrs of batteries with my solar system, they are only used for blackouts.  If my batteries fail, I will rig up an ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) and cable.

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That is a major advantage. 

I have a generator in the back of my pickup truck  for running  tool away from the shed. I would love to get rid of the generator and the noise it makes. 

I am of the opinion that at this point , electric is so inexpensive here in Thailand that  making the investment might nor be economically viable, but I am not sure,

Me and the wife have talked about the solar cell for the house option. 

Not to derail this thread but. 

What size system do you find is adequate for am average home? and what size battery system for overnight consumption? Except for the cool winter months, we run the AC in the bedroom almost 24/7 and the Living Room kitchen area most of the time.  

[JBChiangRai]

I have 22Kw of panels and 18Kw of grid-tied inverters, I think that is overkill.  unless I am charging the EV, when the sun is out, my system derates to 12Kw and sometimes 6Kw.

 

I think the optimum ROI for me would be a grid-tied system of 7-8Kw of panels and a 6Kw inverter, or if I wanted a hybrid system with batteries, maybe double that with 20KwHr's of batteries.

 

The highest ROI is grid-tied system if you have a spinning meter and installing your system on the QT, it can be as short as 3 years.

 

My ROI will be somewhere between 5 and 6 years, I was extremely fortunate in that I got my batteries very cheaply, circa 80,000 baht all in for 28.8KwHr's of Grade A LFP.  I used my local electrician and told him how to do it!  He has now done 3 of my friends systems too, once he understood how it worked, he got it straight away.

[Bandersnatch]

  On 1/15/2024 at 12:25 AM, sirineou said:

Can you use your battery to run household alliances in the event of a blackout, or if too far from power outlets? I read that with many EVs that is an option now. 

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I have 3 videos on my channel about how I am using my EV to provide backup power to my house. This is video 2 of 3 with links to the others in the description.

 

 

[Gweiloman]

  On 1/14/2024 at 2:41 PM, Yellowtail said:

 

A lot of people do know what they spend on fuel. A lot of people don't realize how hard it is to actually cost justify buying a new car based on fuel savings. This is what I spent in 2023 on fuel driving a 2016 2.8L Fortuner:

 

Even if I paid nothing for electricity, it would take almost 18 years to justify one million Baht to buy a new EV.

 

The average km per month I've drive since the car was new, is 1,086. That's about a THB3,120 spend per month for fuel.

 

Add another 2-3K twice a year for oil changes. 

 

Trying to use cost savings to justify buying a new vehicle makes little sense to me. 

 

 

 

 

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I agreed with you that it makes little sense to purchase an EV solely for the fuel savings but as @sirineousaid, it is definitely a consideration when planning to purchase a new car. Fuel saving is only one of many advantages. Savings on maintenance (engine oil etc) is another. What is overlooked sometimes is that an EV only needs to be “serviced” (checked) once a year as compared to 6 months for many petrol cars. Furthermore, it takes only an hour or so for this checking so you can easily kill this time in the dealer’s lounge rather than leaving your car there for a few hours as was the case with my previous ICEVs. 
 

An EV is not for everyone as stated many times before but if your profile and circumstances allow it, it should definitely be a consideration. The ride comfort, convenient features and convenience of charging does really add to your quality of life. I sat in a friend’s 6 month of Toyota Yaris last night and I was genuinely shocked at the whole ride experience, from the cranking of the engine to the initial takeoff.

 

Like I mentioned in another thread, it costs nothing to go for a test drive and you might be pleasantly surprised and understand a bit better why EV owners are generally pleased with their purchase.

[Pib]

  On 1/15/2024 at 12:05 AM, Bandersnatch said:

 

The thing about solar in Thailand is that you get abundant power in the middle of the day. So if you installed a small solar system like 5kW, your house is probably only using about 1kW per hour but in the middle hours of the day you will be getting close to an 4 extra kW. 

 

My AWD performance EV (not the most efficient EV) can travel 7km/kWh (580km range from a 82.5kWh battery) 

 

You drove 50km/day last year so you need only 7kWh per day.

 

So yes the power for your EV is free if you installed solar for your house 

 

 

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If I understand your chart correctly where the red colored lines represent home power usage it doesn't appear you use any air cons, maybe just use a small one sometimes, or maybe not at all.  But then again, the chart does not show usage/production from "other" solar production invertors you may have...like Invertor #2, #3, etc., which may be providing more power/showing some load usage.   

 

Where you say "your house is probably only using about 1KW per hour" I would agree if a person was "not" running any air cons or other "Kilowatt-eating machines" like air cons.    Say a home is running one 18K BTU Mitsubishi invertor A/C during the day and/or night.  That A/C alone is going to be pulling around 1KWH...maybe up to around 1.5KWH when it's really hot outside and probably in the 0.5KWH ballpark at night when not needing to work too hard to keep things cool....but probably averaging right around the 1KWH ballpark over a 24 hour period. 

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

We are heavy users of air conditioning, there are 13 units in my house.  We do have enough power to keep the whole house at 27-28C and only end up with a minimal bill.  My daughters are heavy air con users and they like to drain the tank of hot water when they shower.

[Yellowtail]

  On 1/15/2024 at 12:05 AM, Bandersnatch said:

 

The thing about solar in Thailand is that you get abundant power in the middle of the day. So if you installed a small solar system like 5kW, your house is probably only using about 1kW per hour but in the middle hours of the day you will be getting close to an 4 extra kW. 

 

My AWD performance EV (not the most efficient EV) can travel 7km/kWh (580km range from a 82.5kWh battery) 

 

You drove 50km/day last year so you need only 7kWh per day.

 

So yes the power for your EV is free if you installed solar for your house 

 

 

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Assuming your car is parked at home during the day, yes? 

[Gweiloman]

  On 1/15/2024 at 4:57 AM, Yellowtail said:

Assuming your car is parked at home during the day, yes? 

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Naturally. In my case, I have a PHEV (34 kWh battery) and an EV (60 kWh battery). I charge whichever car needs it and drive the other for that day. Quite fun actually lol.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Now that’s a healthy discount ( 300 + 280k ) but only to the end of the month !

 

 

[KhunLA]

  On 1/17/2024 at 7:28 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Now that’s a healthy discount ( 300 + 280k ) but only to the end of the month !

 

 

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Whoa ... competition is a beautiful thing .... ฿฿฿ in the pocket 

 

Where were they (GWM & BYD) 2 years ago ?  I could have save ฿80k

[Yellowtail]

I think the MG-HS will be at the April motor show on the new gen-two platform, so they need to blow the gen-ones out. 

 

 

[josephbloggs]

  On 1/17/2024 at 8:29 AM, Yellowtail said:

I think the MG-HS will be at the April motor show on the new gen-two platform, so they need to blow the gen-ones out. 

 

 

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I would agree that makes sense. In its current guise it is not an attractive car (for me), even with the discount. But also agree it is great for the consumer - long may it continue as we have never seen this price competition before in Thailand.

[JBChiangRai]

Tesla dropping prices in Europe & China again.  New registrations down 9% in Germany.  Increased Chinese competition cited.

 

Tesla slashes Model Y prices in Europe after China price cuts (msn.com)

[Bandersnatch]

  On 1/17/2024 at 3:20 PM, josephbloggs said:

I would agree that makes sense. In its current guise it is not an attractive car (for me), even with the discount. But also agree it is great for the consumer - long may it continue as we have never seen this price competition before in Thailand.

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I would definitely recommend taking it for a test drive before writing it off. This was MGs top end car designed to compete with the Honda CRV. It is a luxury car packed with features and a 0-100kph of 6.9 seconds.

 

I’ve owned one for over 2 years. It’s 70km EV only range is enough for most of our local trips. 
 

We own a Seal Performance as well, but we have no plans to sell the HS as we have 5 dogs and a baby.

 

[motdaeng]

byd seal performance vs xiaomi su7 max, exciting electric vehicle times ahead.

however, i don't see xiaomi entering thailand anytime soon ... it is a nice looking car.

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

  On 1/18/2024 at 1:22 AM, motdaeng said:

byd seal performance vs xiaomi su7 max, exciting electric vehicle times ahead.

however, i don't see xiaomi entering thailand anytime soon ... it is a nice looking car.

 

 

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That is a nice car without a doubt, a shame they couldn’t tell us the all important $$$ !, also I wonder what the battery chemistry is ?

 

[macahoom]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:00 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

That is a nice car without a doubt, a shame they couldn’t tell us the all important $$$ !, also I wonder what the battery chemistry is ?

 

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It has a ternary (NMC) battery. That rules it out for me.

 

I think in real life it must be a great looking car - longer, wider and less tall than the Seal.

 

Edit: I see in the post below this one that the ternary is only in the top model. The base model has an LFP.

[KhunLA]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:00 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

That is a nice car without a doubt, a shame they couldn’t tell us the all important $$$ !, also I wonder what the battery chemistry is ?

 

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wiki:

[Purdey]

https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/16/hertzs-tesla-liquidation-sale-likely-means-more-depreciation-for-used-evs/

Hertz, the largest U.S. fleet operator of EVs, has blamed the sale on high repaircosts and weak demand for the vehicles it offers on rent.

I guess this is only in America but worth noting.

[BKKBike09]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:21 AM, Purdey said:

https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/16/hertzs-tesla-liquidation-sale-likely-means-more-depreciation-for-used-evs/

Hertz, the largest U.S. fleet operator of EVs, has blamed the sale on high repaircosts and weak demand for the vehicles it offers on rent.

I guess this is only in America but worth noting.

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I expect it will soon be the case elsewhere. I usually rent from Hertz at Heathrow (invariably the cheapest of the brand name firms located on airport). Last few times they've had dozens of Teslas / Polestars lined up going nowhere fast. Hopeless rental choice for most people. Plus the excess is waaay more than for an ICE (thousands of pounds). They're so not in demand that at one point they were telling renters in the confirmation email "if your preferred vehicle is not available you may get the chance to experience an electric vehicle" or some guff like that i.e. "we're desperate to get these in use so we may try and dump one on you".

 

Rental prices for Hertz Polestars in UK have plummeted, too.

 

To keep on thread: I don't know if Hertz in Thailand currently offers EVs?

[KhunLA]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:35 AM, BKKBike09 said:

To keep on thread: I don't know if Hertz in Thailand currently offers EVs?

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[JBChiangRai]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:00 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

That is a nice car without a doubt, a shame they couldn’t tell us the all important $$$ !, also I wonder what the battery chemistry is ?

 

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I read somewhere it was around $115k in China, that may have been the top model.

[motdaeng]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:35 AM, BKKBike09 said:

I expect it will soon be the case elsewhere. I usually rent from Hertz at Heathrow (invariably the cheapest of the brand name firms located on airport). Last few times they've had dozens of Teslas / Polestars lined up going nowhere fast. Hopeless rental choice for most people. Plus the excess is waaay more than for an ICE (thousands of pounds). They're so not in demand that at one point they were telling renters in the confirmation email "if your preferred vehicle is not available you may get the chance to experience an electric vehicle" or some guff like that i.e. "we're desperate to get these in use so we may try and dump one on you".

 

Rental prices for Hertz Polestars in UK have plummeted, too.

 

To keep on thread: I don't know if Hertz in Thailand currently offers EVs?

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offering  tesla or polestar as a rental car is mainly for an experienced ev owner. it seems like a poor business decision from hertz!

 

a friend of mine had a reservation for a ice rental car europe. he arrived at the rental company too early for his car, they offered him a byd atto 3.

despite having no prior experience with electric cars, he took the opportunity and drove the rental bev for five days. he enjoyed the experience

and loved the car. his next car will be a bev for sure! 

 

he is open-minded (67y) and enjoys trying new things, not as some ev brasher on this forum ...

(the ev brasher should really be more open-minded and go for a test drive with a bev ...)

[Andrew Dwyer]

  On 1/18/2024 at 2:43 AM, JBChiangRai said:

 

I read somewhere it was around $115k in China, that may have been the top model.

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Certainly seems to have been a lot of rumours floating around about the price for this EV.

 

https://carnewschina.com/2024/01/05/xiaomi-is-getting-nervous-about-su7-pricing-rumors/

 

 

[josephbloggs]

  On 1/18/2024 at 1:00 AM, Bandersnatch said:

I would definitely recommend taking it for a test drive before writing it off. This was MGs top end car designed to compete with the Honda CRV. It is a luxury car packed with features and a 0-100kph of 6.9 seconds.

 

I’ve owned one for over 2 years. It’s 70km EV only range is enough for most of our local trips. 
 

We own a Seal Performance as well, but we have no plans to sell the HS as we have 5 dogs and a baby.

 

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Well there you go, consider me educated. For some reason I always had it down as a low end vehicle, seems I was wrong - that looks nice inside. I also didn't know it was that speedy and had such a good electric capacity.

Thanks for the info.

[Bandersnatch]

  On 1/18/2024 at 5:10 AM, josephbloggs said:

Well there you go, consider me educated. For some reason I always had it down as a low end vehicle, seems I was wrong - that looks nice inside. I also didn't know it was that speedy and had such a good electric capacity.

Thanks for the info.

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Forgot to mention the Bose sound system 

 

 

Digital music service replicates on the drives display

 

 

Super sports button 

 

 

I think MG tried very hard to show they were not just a budget brand and wanted to be taken seriously.

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

  On 1/18/2024 at 1:22 AM, motdaeng said:

byd seal performance vs xiaomi su7 max, exciting electric vehicle times ahead.

however, i don't see xiaomi entering thailand anytime soon ... it is a nice looking car.

 

 

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Gosh, the Xiaomi SU7 could be  real BYD Seal Slayer if it does come to Thailand soon at a price in the same ballpark as a Seal.   The SU7 specs appear on the surface as awesome...and a much lower curb weight than the Seal.  

 

But personally I would be gunshy of a Xiaomi since they are brand new to EVs and don't have an EV dealership network...plus I still see them as a smartphone manufacturer.  

 

 

[mistral53]

  On 1/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, Pib said:

Gosh, the Xiaomi SU7 could be  real BYD Seal Slayer if it does come to Thailand soon at a price in the same ballpark as a Seal.   The SU7 specs appear on the surface as awesome...and a much lower curb weight than the Seal.  

 

But personally I would be gunshy of a Xiaomi since they are brand new to EVs and don't have an EV dealership network...plus I still see them as a smartphone manufacturer.  

 

 

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The BYD Seal and the  Xiaomi SU7 are not even on the same planet, technology wise - that presumably will be reflected in the price. I would not be surprised if it is 50% higher than the Seal top model. The top performance version was modeled on the Tesla Plaid, so expect prices to be similar, albeit lower.

 

Xiaomi is not entering the vehicle manufacturing field tip-toeing - they plan a full frontal assault...... watch out Tesla and BYD.