Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[KhunLA]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

 NEDC and/or WLTP range ratings is what you'll see on EVs sold in Thailand.  

You can definitely trust the WLTP range estimate, at least on our MG ZS, as stated at 320 kms, and mixed driving, (30-60-90kph) we average 350 easily.   At highway speeds, 90 kph +/- then we get at least 300 kms, and at the end of 3+ hr driving, average 80+ kph.   So around the 230-250 kms mark, about 3hrs, we're peeking for the next CS.  And a welcome break it is.

 

That's in 'eco' mode, which is more than powerful enough, with KERS (regen) set at max '3', for all driving.

 

WLTP range rating of 320 kms for the ZS, that testing is done with an average 47 kph.

[Pib]

My BYD Atto 3 has a NEDC range rating of 480Km and a WLTP rating of 420Km.   If I use the reported consumption number in the Atto's infotainment system of 12.6KWH per 100Km after 8,215Km that equates to a range of 460Km based on my travels so far with the 1st 3,000Km being done in ECO mode (taking it easy) and since then in Normal mode just doing my normal style of driving which is not aggressive...hard to be aggressive in Bangkok traffic.   If I had stayed in ECO mode all the time and always took it very easy it would probably make the 480Km NEDC rating.

 

The first 3,000Km was in ECO mode with Standard Regen...since then up to the current 8,215KM it's been in Normal mode continuing to use Standard Regen.  I rarely use Sport mode....I probably haven't used Sport mode totaling more than a few minutes since having the Atto.  And I don't use the High Regen setting because it slows me down too fast when stopping in city driving and makes my head lurk forward a little when slowing down...just don't feel comfortable to me and can actually makes it harder to keep a safe distance between the car in front of you "and the one right behind you" in bumper-to-bumper Bangkok traffic. Slowing down too fast in bumper-to-bumper traffic is not recommended unless you want to spend some time with the driver that rear-ends you as both of you wait for the insurance reps to arrive the accident.  Too many drivers in Thailand make little to no effort to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them....that's why we see so many rear end chain collisions in the great Bangkok area and many locations in Thailand.

 

Plus that guy in Oz who does a lot of Atto Youtubes did regen braking tests with his Atto set to Standard and High....using OBD2 data he determined both settings generate the same amount of regen power over time.  That is, although the High setting may generate say 30Kwh/second for say 2 seconds while braking totaling 60KwH total over those 2 seconds since the Standard setting is less aggressive taking longer to stop say over 4 seconds it would generate 15Kwh/second totaling 60Kwh....same amount of total regen power over time going back into the battery whether in Standard or HIgh Regen.  Summary: either Standard or High regen setting will generate the same amount of total energy over time in the Atto....like total regen power between your recharges....can't speak to other models.

 

My travels are pretty much here in western Bangkok, bordering Nonthaburi and Nakorn Pathom provinces....pretty much a combination of city (very heavy traffic in the Bangkok area) and provincial driving.  That is, daily grocery/shopping runs, a weekly round trip visit of 110Km to the MIL in Nakorn Pathom, some driving into central, highrise Bangkok, and an occasional reaching out about 200Km one way from my western Bangkok home.  Driving speed pretty much stays under/at 90KmH except for the one trip to Pattaya where I was doing 120KmH for much of the way on the Bangkok-Chonburi/#7 tollway.  The A/C is always on at 22C.

 

However, I don't believe the EV consumption level reported is truly accurate (i.e., that 12.6Kwh over my 8,215km driving so far and my own tracking/calculation of real world range is 422Km if staying below 90KmH.   Make a trip where you are speeding along at 120KmH and the range is going to be right at 400Km.  When you start speeding along above 90KwH a significant amount more energy is being eaten.  

 

But yea, my Atto gets the 420Km WLTP range in general purpose city and highway driving.  But that 480Km NEDC range rating could probably be reached with "very easy" ECO mode driving and keeping the speed significantly below 90KmH all the time....that is, limited to pretty much city driving, going very easy on the fuel pedal, slow acceleration from the stop lights, etc....just very easy driving.

 

[Bandersnatch]

My neighbour has a visitor from the uk who is “not interested in EVs” He admits that he knows nothing about them. I was invited to take them for a coffee in my BYD Seal AWD Performance.

 

His first reaction what the shape of the car. He had never seen one before or even heard of BYD and was quite taken with it. “Looks like a Porche Taycan”

 

 

Inside the complements continued. “Very luxurious” as he stroked the alcantara. 

 

I asked BYD to navigate to the coffee shop and as navigation came up switched the screen to portrait mode from the steering wheel. “Very cool” 

 

My neighbour suggested we try the launch mode. I put front camera on the main screen and launch timer on the driver’s display. He was shocked by the performance.

 

The rest of the drive was on a four lane road (Dual carriage way) as I nipped in between the slow moving traffic like they were standing still. 
 

Over coffee he admitted that he hadn’t any idea just how far EVs had come and would seriously consider a BYD Seal as his next car.

 

 

 

[Pib]

In my transition from ICEV to EV I have one overriding memory and that was my test drive of a BYD Atto (which I later bought).  It was not the memory of the entire test drive but those moments during the test drive that I pressed way down on the fuel pedal and felt the power/acceleration of the EV....internally I was thinking "Wow!!"  I was surprised at the amount of power...much more than the 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L diesel I have been driving for the past 15 years.   

 

I just had no real idea of the power/torque/acceleration that an EV had until I did that test drive...personally experienced it...personally felt it.....and all of this get-up-and-go with a 75% fuel cost savings over my Fortuner.   

[KhunLA]

4 hours ago, Pib said:

I just had no real idea of the power/torque/acceleration that an EV had until I did that test drive...personally experienced it...personally felt it.....and all of this get-up-and-go with a 75% fuel cost savings over my Fortuner.   

I didn't even bother test driving the EV, since owning the newest ICE version of the MG ZS.  Reading the specs was enough, 0-100 kph in 8+ seconds vs 12+ seconds.  I thought the ICE was peppy enough as it was, so getting 50% more, at 75% less cost, if using PEA ... no brainer for me.  Having solar, just icing on the cake 

 

Only drive in 'eco' as more than enough power and out paces any ICE at that price point.  Don't even bother with 'normal' or 'sport', and only tested them.   Sport is pretty freakin' awesome.   Can't even image the other performance EVs doing <4 second to 100 kph.   That' insane 

[ExpatOilWorker]

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I didn't even bother test driving the EV, since owning the newest ICE version of the MG ZS.  Reading the specs was enough, 0-100 kph in 8+ seconds vs 12+ seconds.  I thought the ICE was peppy enough as it was, so getting 50% more, at 75% less cost, if using PEA ... no brainer for me.  Having solar, just icing on the cake 

 

Only drive in 'eco' as more than enough power and out paces any ICE at that price point.  Don't even bother with 'normal' or 'sport', and only tested them.   Sport is pretty freakin' awesome.   Can't even image the other performance EVs doing <4 second to 100 kph.   That' insane 

So EV cars are all about performance?

Sounds like petrol heads with a short circuit.

[KhunLA]

11 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

So EV cars are all about performance?

Sounds like petrol heads with a short circuit.

Actually all about savings.  To energize, maintain and probably longevity, value for baht.   The added performance is just a plus.  Not needed, but really nice to have when wanting.  I can now pass vehicles in less time, when before, w/ICEV, I wouldn't attempt to.  Saves time, and for my driving style, makes passing safer.

[Alotoftravel]

Hey Pib,

Can  you,please share your driving experiences with your Otto 3 . I am most interested on BYD adas system ( I like your comment that you use standard regen with normal mode )

Have you disable any of their adas system.? Appreciate any experiences , the 899k baht may delivery with  7.9 se. 0-100 kmh sounds attractive even with the standard battery 

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

So EV cars are all about performance?

Sounds like petrol heads with a short circuit.

 

Yep, I would say we are definitely petrol heads, auto enthusiasts if you prefer.

 

The performance of EV's is addictive, so is the lack of noise & vibration.

[sirineou]

24 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Yep, I would say we are definitely petrol heads, auto enthusiasts if you prefer.

 

The performance of EV's is addictive, so is the lack of noise & vibration.

One can recreate the petrol driving experience, by making engine and gear changing sounds with their mouth, and placing vibrating sex toy under their seat,  while driving an EV. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

5 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

So EV cars are all about performance?

Sounds like petrol heads with a short circuit.

Not all about Performance, some of us prefer Premium ( if you know you know ) !!

[Pib]

On 2/24/2024 at 8:12 PM, Pib said:

My BYD Atto 3 has a NEDC range rating of 480Km and a WLTP rating of 420Km.   If I use the reported consumption number in the Atto's infotainment system of 12.6KWH per 100Km after 8,215Km that equates to a range of 460Km based on my travels so far with the 1st 3,000Km being done in ECO mode (taking it easy) and since then in Normal mode just doing my normal style of driving which is not aggressive...hard to be aggressive in Bangkok traffic.   If I had stayed in ECO mode all the time and always took it very easy it would probably make the 480Km NEDC rating....

 

.....However, I don't believe the EV consumption level reported is truly accurate (i.e., that 12.6Kwh over my 8,215km driving so far and my own tracking/calculation of real world range is 422Km if staying below 90KmH.   Make a trip where you are speeding along at 120KmH and the range is going to be right at 400Km.  When you start speeding along above 90KmH a significant amount more energy is being eaten.  

 

But yea, my Atto gets the 420Km WLTP range in general purpose city and highway driving.  But that 480Km NEDC range rating could probably be reached with "very easy" ECO mode driving and keeping the speed significantly below 90KmH all the time....that is, limited to pretty much city driving, going very easy on the fuel pedal, slow acceleration from the stop lights, etc....just very easy driving.

 

 

Update:  Above is a partial quote of my earlier post talking my Atto range.  Today the wife and I did a 218Km trip with the vehicle set to ECO mode...I wanted to do a range test in ECO mode vs Normal mode....in Normal mode I was getting around a 422Km range as talked above.   The trip was mostly (around 80%) on major 4-6 lanes wide highways and the remaining 20% on rural two lane roads where you have to watch-out for kids on motorcycles, dogs, cows, chickens, snakes, just anything and everything,  etc.   While on the major highways I kept the speed in the 85-90KmH ballpark whenever possible and only got close to 100KmH for maybe 5 minutes during the whole trip...and on the rural roads the speed was in the 60KmH ballpark.  A/C set to 22C.   I did the whole trip in "ECO" mode as I wanted to see how much better range I got in comparison to "Normal" mode where I get around 422Km real world range.

 

During this trip I used 47% of my charge...had 53% charge remaining and Atto remaining range guess-o-meter estimated I had remaining range of 255Km (that was a Dynamic range setting estimation) which means my Atto should have a total real world range in "ECO" mode of 473Km which is pretty close to the Atto NEDC range rating of 480Km and even better than its WLTP rating of 420Km.

 

Now when I did a calculation where I extrapolated/used a ratio formula to estimate if I used 47% charge to go 218Km then using 100% charge I should be able to go X-kilometers that formula gave me a total range of 464Km....9Km less than where the Atto guess-o-meter indicated 473Km total range.  Of course this 464Km assumes the vehicle charge percentage indicator is fairly linear over its 0-100% range.  Example each 10% gets pretty close to the same range....the top 50% gets pretty much the same range as the bottom 50%, etc.  And based on my 4 months of driving the Atto the parentage indicator is pretty linear. 

 

So, barring a range test where I used ECO mode all the way to zero percent charge (or pretty durn close to it), my real world range today in ECO mode seemed to be in the 473Km to 464Km ballpark which is definitely better than the 422Km I have been getting in Normal mode.  Normal mode gives a person noticeably more power when accelerating quickly.  If using the lower number of 464Km in ECO mode then that's around 10% better (higher) range than if driving in Normal mode.

 

 

[Pib]

15 hours ago, Alotoftravel said:

Hey Pib,

Can  you,please share your driving experiences with your Otto 3 . I am most interested on BYD adas system ( I like your comment that you use standard regen with normal mode )

Have you disable any of their adas system.? Appreciate any experiences , the 899k baht may delivery with  7.9 se. 0-100 kmh sounds attractive even with the standard battery 

The Atto ADAS system works fine, but I have turned off  the Lane Keeping function in the Infotainment system as I didn't like getting the occasional notification that I was too close/went over a lane separation line...or shoulder lane line.   The road lanes in Thailand, especially in cities/towns like Bangkok, are narrow and often poorly painted well which can easily cause a Lane Keeping warning where there is really no danger.  If you watch any Atto Youtubes say made about a year ago before a software update allowed you to turn off all or some Lane Keeping function you would see some people griping about Lane Keeping notifications....but those gripes seem to have disappeared in recent Youtube reviews after the software update which tweaked that Lane Keeping function and also allowed people to turn it off if desired. 

 

I have been very pleased with my Atto over my 4 months of ownership/driving.   No problems to speak of...only a few "minor and brief" issues talked below: 

- when I first got the Atto when hitting certain bumps at certain speeds I got a small "squeak" in the rear seat area if no one was setting in the seat....I took to car back to the dealership one afternoon to point-out the problem....their mechanics immediately started working on it...no appointment needed....they removed the seat...reinserted the seat...tightened all the seat bolts....took a total of about an hour...no charge...free....and the squeak was gone.

 

- the morning after the car underwent its 1st scheduled warranty checkup which was the 3 month/5,000Km checkout in late Dec 2023 (which was really only a bunch of visual checks with the car on the ground and on a lift with some OBD2 data checks) when the wife and I began a trip the next morning about 40Km into the trip I noticed a low volume squeal in the front brakes when pressing them....not very loud...just a low squeal like you would hear when brake pads are worn out after many tens of thousand of kilometers.  I decided to abort the trip....did a U-turn to go back to Bangkok but right after that U-turn the squeal was gone.  So, we did another U-turn and completed our planned approx 200Km trip.  That was two months and over 3,000Km ago.  A visual inspection didn't show any problems. Maybe some road dirt got lodged between the pads and rotor and somehow that U-turn cleared the dirt...squeal gone...hasn't returned.

 

- and final minor issue was right after the OTA update from Ver 1.61 to Ver 7 several months ago the interior door lights (i.e., the pretty multicolor lights you can turn on of desired) had a glitch where the light on the right rear back seat door was on while the other 3 doors lights was off as they were suppose to be....and that door light shouldn't had been on as the interior doors lights were turned off in the infotainment settings and when turned off it turns "all" doors light off...not any door of your choosing. To clear this glitch I turned the doors light setting on and then immediately off...that rear door light then went off.  Problem hasn't come back.   I figure it was just a OTA software update glitch that cleared itself by me turning the interior door lights setting on and then off again...probably cleared some configuration file. 

 

Yeap...knock on wood (my head) but above three minor issues are the only driving issues I have experienced after 4 months/over 8,400 Km of driving my Atto.

[Bandersnatch]

Neta V has a price reduction

 

 

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

16 months ago in the wee small hours !

Was just the start !!

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

The eternal joy of EVs 😊 😃. 

Text: The battery frame is bent. BYD does not sell it separately. Had to buy the entire battery set for nearly 700,000 when including other repair costs. Over a million baht.

[JBChiangRai]

16 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The eternal joy of EVs 😊 😃. 

Text: The battery frame is bent. BYD does not sell it separately. Had to buy the entire battery set for nearly 700,000 when including other repair costs. Over a million baht.

 

Source?

[motdaeng]

9 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Source?

last night someone at the cat bar told me the same story, so it has be the true ... 🍺🍺🍺

[JBChiangRai]

1 minute ago, motdaeng said:

last night someone at the cat bar told me the same story, so it has be the true ... 🍺🍺🍺

 

We have a Cat Bar in Chiang Rai too.

[KhunLA]

3 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The eternal joy of EVs 😊 😃. 

Text: The battery frame is bent. BYD does not sell it separately. Had to buy the entire battery set for nearly 700,000 when including other repair costs. Over a million baht.

Insured as a total write of.  And if in TH, (the topic) probably insured for the price of a new one, as ours is, if it got totaled.   So your point is what ?

[Pib]

 

There are social media stories with pictures/docs out there in internet land talking Atto battery replacement cost in the Bt700K to $900K ballpark...cost to replace the battery after a wreck. The stories seem to be from about this time last year.

 

https://blink-drive.com/index.php/2023/03/03/byd-battery-replacment/

 

https://www.sanook.com/auto/86639/

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

10 hours ago, Pib said:

 

There are social media stories with pictures/docs out there in internet land talking Atto battery replacement cost in the Bt700K to $900K ballpark...cost to replace the battery after a wreck. The stories seem to be from about this time last year.

 

https://blink-drive.com/index.php/2023/03/03/byd-battery-replacment/

 

https://www.sanook.com/auto/86639/

 

https://m.pantip.com/topic/42395641?

[Andrew Dwyer]

MG taking it up a level to compete with Tesla, BYD and Deepal with a SUV and Saloon model of the MG9.

 

Not heard about these cars, and not confirmed for Thailand , but you can see where their influences lie.

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

So, here’s one that is definitely destined for Thailand and will no doubt create a lot of interest.

 

 

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/zeekr-x-thailand-coming-motor-show-2024-march/

 

At a 1st glance could be let down by the NMC batteries and lower range than the more recent entries but is no doubt interesting.

[motdaeng]

42 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

So, here’s one that is definitely destined for Thailand and will no doubt create a lot of interest.

 

 

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/zeekr-x-thailand-coming-motor-show-2024-march/

 

At a 1st glance could be let down by the NMC batteries and lower range than the more recent entries but is no doubt interesting.

 

the NMC batteries are one reason, why i am no longer interested in the volvo ex30 or hyundai ioniq 6.

 

but i would be also concerned about the (not existing) dealership's network. if you live near bangkok, i think it would be fine.

additionally, i doubt that all the new ev car companies will survive in the next few years. we will certainly see a significant

market consolidation, with more than just a few bankruptcies!

 

 

[Alotoftravel]

On 2/25/2024 at 9:32 PM, Pib said:

The Atto ADAS system works fine, but I have turned off  the Lane Keeping function in the Infotainment system as I didn't like getting the occasional notification that I was too close/went over a lane separation line...or shoulder lane line.   The road lanes in Thailand, especially in cities/towns like Bangkok, are narrow and often poorly painted well which can easily cause a Lane Keeping warning where there is really no danger.  If you watch any Atto Youtubes say made about a year ago before a software update allowed you to turn off all or some Lane Keeping function you would see some people griping about Lane Keeping notifications....but those gripes seem to have disappeared in recent Youtube reviews after the software update which tweaked that Lane Keeping function and also allowed people to turn it off if desired. 

 

I have been very pleased with my Atto over my 4 months of ownership/driving.   No problems to speak of...only a few "minor and brief" issues talked below: 

- when I first got the Atto when hitting certain bumps at certain speeds I got a small "squeak" in the rear seat area if no one was setting in the seat....I took to car back to the dealership one afternoon to point-out the problem....their mechanics immediately started working on it...no appointment needed....they removed the seat...reinserted the seat...tightened all the seat bolts....took a total of about an hour...no charge...free....and the squeak was gone.

 

- the morning after the car underwent its 1st scheduled warranty checkup which was the 3 month/5,000Km checkout in late Dec 2023 (which was really only a bunch of visual checks with the car on the ground and on a lift with some OBD2 data checks) when the wife and I began a trip the next morning about 40Km into the trip I noticed a low volume squeal in the front brakes when pressing them....not very loud...just a low squeal like you would hear when brake pads are worn out after many tens of thousand of kilometers.  I decided to abort the trip....did a U-turn to go back to Bangkok but right after that U-turn the squeal was gone.  So, we did another U-turn and completed our planned approx 200Km trip.  That was two months and over 3,000Km ago.  A visual inspection didn't show any problems. Maybe some road dirt got lodged between the pads and rotor and somehow that U-turn cleared the dirt...squeal gone...hasn't returned.

 

- and final minor issue was right after the OTA update from Ver 1.61 to Ver 7 several months ago the interior door lights (i.e., the pretty multicolor lights you can turn on of desired) had a glitch where the light on the right rear back seat door was on while the other 3 doors lights was off as they were suppose to be....and that door light shouldn't had been on as the interior doors lights were turned off in the infotainment settings and when turned off it turns "all" doors light off...not any door of your choosing. To clear this glitch I turned the doors light setting on and then immediately off...that rear door light then went off.  Problem hasn't come back.   I figure it was just a OTA software update glitch that cleared itself by me turning the interior door lights setting on and then off again...probably cleared some configuration file. 

 

Yeap...knock on wood (my head) but above three minor issues are the only driving issues I have experienced after 4 months/over 8,400 Km of driving my Atto.

PiB, thanks for the reply. I like BYD Otto 3 option to turn off Ada’s if I decide not to use it (turn off once) unlike the mg 4 that requires a turn off upon a start. Appreciate your ownership  responses . 

 

Will check put the Otto 3 standard 899k in may . not sure if the 950k model is worth it( larger screen and wider tires ) 

[ExpatOilWorker]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

So, here’s one that is definitely destined for Thailand and will no doubt create a lot of interest.

 

 

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/zeekr-x-thailand-coming-motor-show-2024-march/

 

At a 1st glance could be let down by the NMC batteries and lower range than the more recent entries but is no doubt interesting.

 China 🇨🇳 sure is taking auto export to the next level.

Roll-on/roll-off ships are old school.

[Andrew Dwyer]

24 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

the NMC batteries are one reason, why i am no longer interested in the volvo ex30 or hyundai ioniq 6.

 

but i would be also concerned about the (not existing) dealership's network. if you live near bangkok, i think it would be fine.

additionally, i doubt that all the new ev car companies will survive in the next few years. we will certainly see a significant

market consolidation, with more than just a few bankruptcies!

 

 

Wonder if Volvo will take them in ( as part of the Geely group ) ?

Deepal at least promised a handful of dealerships with the entry of their cars and seems to be paying off.

 

But yes, going to be difficult to sustain all these new EV brands in the short time.

 

But what about the ICE vehicles ?, with 20 to 25% of new car sales going to EV surely there’s going to be some casualties in the ICE market ?

I would guess Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki are all rethinking their strategy.

 

 

[vinny41]

2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Wonder if Volvo will take them in ( as part of the Geely group ) ?

Deepal at least promised a handful of dealerships with the entry of their cars and seems to be paying off.

 

But yes, going to be difficult to sustain all these new EV brands in the short time.

 

But what about the ICE vehicles ?, with 20 to 25% of new car sales going to EV surely there’s going to be some casualties in the ICE market ?

I would guess Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki are all rethinking their strategy.

 

 

The total number of vehicles sales in Thailand for 2023 was 775,780 of which 76,314 were EV sales  which represents  9.8% of the total vehicle sales don't know where you getting the 20 to 25% figure from unless there is a EV motoring equivalent of TAT

[Yellowtail]

18 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

The total number of vehicles sales in Thailand for 2023 was 775,780 of which 76,314 were EV sales  which represents  9.8% of the total vehicle sales don't know where you getting the 20 to 25% figure from unless there is a EV motoring equivalent of TAT

I think he's talking about the last few months as prices have been slashed.