Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

You think the cost of electric in Thailand is  not going to go up? And I did mention UK.

Id be concerened  about warranty, dissappearing with change of  owner? and rust shouldnt  all cars be now galvanised?

Checkout also this real Russian  review at this point  

 

Electricity price in the UK is going up to £0.56 per unit which is about 24baht. It will take a long time (definitely not in my lifetime) for electricity to hit such prices in Thailand. 
So while you are correct in saying the gap in savings is closing in the UK, it’s definitely not the case here.

[Gweiloman]

22 minutes ago, transam said:

That's a long push if you're down to your last 50km...????

Smart EV drivers won’t let their range drop down to such levels on a long distance trip. Not so sure about ICE drivers though.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Smart EV drivers won’t let their range drop down to such levels on a long distance trip. Not so sure about ICE drivers though.

Hmmmmm, I could question the "smart" driver thingy, or granny out for a joyride that may end up wiv heart failure........????

[Gweiloman]

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

This question has been raised many times in this discussion by people who do not own an EV in Thailand and answered by people who do.

 

Just because you don’t see any chargers doesn’t mean that don’t exist. 

 

 

 

You are so right. Before I got interested in buying an electrified vehicle, I hardly knew of the existence of a single charger, much less saw one. Now however, I see them everywhere, especially in Bangchak stations, PEA offices etc.

[macahoom]

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

This question has been raised many times in this discussion by people who do not own an EV in Thailand and answered by people who do.

 

Just because you don’t see any chargers doesn’t mean that don’t exist. 

 

 

 

And that's just MG charging stations in Thailand. Is there a map showing the location of all providers' charging stations?

[Bandersnatch]

22 minutes ago, macahoom said:

And that's just MG charging stations in Thailand. Is there a map showing the location of all providers' charging stations?

I am signed into my account on PlugShare, so now sure how this map will appear for people without an account.

Try clicking ignore to all pop up request to sign up for an account

 

https://www.plugshare.com/location/119530

[dj230]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

And yet ... are you bipolar ?

Because earlier, in 'this thread' you stated:  

"im seeing a lot of ev infrastructure being built"

https://aseannow.com/topic/1257405-electric-vehicles-in-thailand/page/13/#comment-17415557

 

 

Being built and having EV infrastructure is 2 different things 

[dj230]

3 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

This question has been raised many times in this discussion by people who do not own an EV in Thailand and answered by people who do.

 

Just because you don’t see any chargers doesn’t mean that don’t exist. 

 

 

 

I actually saw some ev infrastructure in Bangkok, but it's still being built, nothing comparable to infrastructure where EV's are going to be reliable. Curious are those superchargers or just regular EV chargers? 

 

If you own an EV you're going to have a bad time in Thailand, its just not close to functional yet for the switch. People in Condos always bickering in group chats about how people are not moving their cars for the few EV chargers and how no one can charge their EV's

Edited August 28, 2022 by dj230

[macahoom]

1 minute ago, dj230 said:

I actually saw some ev infrastructure in Bangkok, but it's still being built.

 

If you own an EV you're going to have a bad time in Thailand, its just not close to functional yet for the switch. People in Condos always bickering in group chats about how people are not moving their cars for the few EV chargers and how no one can charge their EV's

I own two EVs. I bought my first one three years ago. There are plenty of charging stations around Thailand. Not a problem.

 

I probably would not have bought an EV if I lived in a condo. It's nice charging in my own garage.

[dj230]

10 minutes ago, macahoom said:

I own two EVs. I bought my first one three years ago. There are plenty of charging stations around Thailand. Not a problem.

 

I probably would not have bought an EV if I lived in a condo. It's nice charging in my own garage.

Plenty? Or they exist? How many EV charging stations are there versus gas stations? and how long does it take to charge

 

If everyone had an EV in Thailand would there be enough? I think less than a few % (2-3%?) of the condo I was in owned an EV and they were already fighting about the chargers. What happens when you have no charge and theres no charger available? 

 

I like EV's but in Thailand it doesn't seem realistic right now, I could see if you had a home and charged it at home but for the mass population it wouldn't make sense.

 

I have been looking into BEV's for investment opportunities, even China is having issues with their power grid handling the EV's. Also it seems like superchargers would be required to make EV's more of a realistic mode of transportation for the general public, with fast charging times of ~20 minutes. It seems like a lot of countries have enough infrastructure for the switch, especially the US. I don't think Thailand is there yet, especially because adoption usually happens exponentially. 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by dj230

[Bandersnatch]

1 minute ago, dj230 said:

People in Condos always bickering in group chats about how people are not moving their cars for the few EV chargers and how no one can charge their EV's

We have also discussed EVs in Condos  several times. There is condo charging in Europe and the USA. I own condos in the UK and will be installing EV charging when I get a rental void. The UK is now offering a £300 grant for landlords to install charging for tenants. Thailand is about 5 years behind where Europe is with regard to EVs. Overnight 3 and 7kW charging (destination charging) will become more common here as they are in Europe.

 

 

Condo charging is not yet a thing in Thailand, but if it can be done elsewhere, then it can be done here, once there is demand for it.
 

If the condo building can make money selling electricity at a premium to EV owners, then it will happen.
 

Installing a power outlets with RFID controlled access and back office recharging software would be the way to go. 

 

[dj230]

4 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

We have also discussed EVs in Condos  several times. There is condo charging in Europe and the USA. I own condos in the UK and will be installing EV charging when I get a rental void. The UK is now offering a £300 grant for landlords to install charging for tenants. Thailand is about 5 years behind where Europe is with regard to EVs. Overnight 3 and 7kW charging (destination charging) will become more common here as they are in Europe.

 

 

Condo charging is not yet a thing in Thailand, but if it can be done elsewhere, then it can be done here, once there is demand for it.
 

If the condo building can make money selling electricity at a premium to EV owners, then it will happen.
 

Installing a power outlets with RFID controlled access and back office recharging software would be the way to go. 

 

I am talking about Thailand, and now. Nothing says Thailand can't build the infrastructure, it's already being built but it's just not there yet. The infrastructure needs to be built before there is demand for it, by the time there is demand it will be too late in my opinion. Exponential adoption requires preparation. Even in the US and China theres fighting at EV charging stations. When the infrastructure is ready, it will be realistic to own an EV in Thailand.

Edited August 28, 2022 by dj230

[Bandersnatch]

I am bored answering questions that have asked and answered several times before and reading all the complaining

 

Ignored!

[KhunLA]

Comes down to the buyer of course, that's with every product and use of.

 

If you can't charge your EV at home, or going to a CS once a week or every 2 weeks, depending on your use, and too much hassle for you, then buying an EV obviously isn't for you.

 

Simple shopping common sense.  Those who have, will have, charging at home, or during their out & abouts, don't appear to have any issue at all.

 

[Gweiloman]

57 minutes ago, dj230 said:

Plenty? Or they exist? How many EV charging stations are there versus gas stations? and how long does it take to charge

 

If everyone had an EV in Thailand would there be enough? I think less than a few % (2-3%?) of the condo I was in owned an EV and they were already fighting about the chargers. What happens when you have no charge and theres no charger available? 

 

I like EV's but in Thailand it doesn't seem realistic right now, I could see if you had a home and charged it at home but for the mass population it wouldn't make sense.

 

I have been looking into BEV's for investment opportunities, even China is having issues with their power grid handling the EV's. Also it seems like superchargers would be required to make EV's more of a realistic mode of transportation for the general public, with fast charging times of ~20 minutes. It seems like a lot of countries have enough infrastructure for the switch, especially the US. I don't think Thailand is there yet, especially because adoption usually happens exponentially. 

 

IMO, you are making a very fundamental mistake in your argument against EV ownership. You equate charging an EV to filling up at a gas station. If you own an ICE, you are limited to filling up at the station or buying gas, putting it in a Jerry can and taking it home to put into your petrol tank..

EV owners generally don’t do that. They charge their vehicle at home or at their destination as much as possible. Public charging tend to be more an opportunistic move or a last resort. Thus, there isn’t the need for as many charging stations as there are for gas stations.

Condo dwellers have to put in a bit more effort ie taking their EV to a charging station once or twice a week and leaving it there for a couple of hours, if they don’t have any other option.

 I haven’t really come across any cases of EV owners stranded on the roadside due to no charge left. Same as ice owners having no gas left.

 

[macahoom]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

I am bored answering questions that have asked and answered several times before and reading all the complaining

 

Ignored!

Me too!

[CLW]

6 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

It looks like the BYD Han and Tang will not be coming to Thailand.

 

"But everything we're bringing in the right-hand-drive market is either on the 3.0 platform or future platforms, where the Han and the Tang are built on a different platform that is not coming to right-hand-drive markets.

 

"It's billions of dollars to change a product from left-hand drive to right-hand drive. When we started the journey with BYD three-odd years ago about bringing right-hand-drive cars into the country, it was quickly identified that we're better off investing into the future platforms, rather than the existing platforms."

 

https://www.drive.com.au/news/byd-han-tang-song-ruled-out-for-australia/

 

BYD Han:

 

 

BYD Tang:

 

 

 

 

 

Too bad the Han won't be coming, as it's a real competitor for Tesla and other western EV brands. 

The Seal quite attractive to me as well. Would be the first affordable sedan EV for Thailand 

[dj230]

2 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

IMO, you are making a very fundamental mistake in your argument against EV ownership. You equate charging an EV to filling up at a gas station. If you own an ICE, you are limited to filling up at the station or buying gas, putting it in a Jerry can and taking it home to put into your petrol tank..

EV owners generally don’t do that. They charge their vehicle at home or at their destination as much as possible. Public charging tend to be more an opportunistic move or a last resort. Thus, there isn’t the need for as many charging stations as there are for gas stations.

Condo dwellers have to put in a bit more effort ie taking their EV to a charging station once or twice a week and leaving it there for a couple of hours, if they don’t have any other option.

 I haven’t really come across any cases of EV owners stranded on the roadside due to no charge left. Same as ice owners having no gas left.

 

EV owners generally don't do that in Thailand because they can't, not because they wouldn't. How would you be able to go and charge your EV at a charging station, or a parking lot when there isn't many of them and you have to wait hours? The only way to own an EV practically now in Thailand is if you have a home and don't travel long distances. In other countries it's common for EV owners to charge outside of their home or in condos and travel long distances.

 

It doesn't seem practical to me to drive an EV to a charging station once or twice a week and leaving it there for a couple of hours but to each their own. Wait until more people get EV's and then you have to wait a couple hours for those to charge their cars, and then charge your car for a couple hours, thats what was happening in China before they up'd their infrastructure. 

 

I haven't came across any cases of ICE car owners stranded on the roadside due to no gas either but there's videos of it online, as there is videos of people running out of battery on EV's as well, thats just not a common thing since we have fuel level indicators and battery level indicators. Running out of charge on the side of the road isn't the issue, the issue is charging the EV practically right now and it doesn't seem practical for a majority of people. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by dj230

[Gweiloman]

21 minutes ago, dj230 said:

EV owners generally don't do that in Thailand because they can't, not because they wouldn't. How would you be able to go and charge your EV at a charging station, or a parking lot when there isn't many of them and you have to wait hours? The only way to own an EV practically now in Thailand is if you have a home and don't travel long distances. In other countries it's common for EV owners to charge outside of their home or in condos and travel long distances.

 

It doesn't seem practical to me to drive an EV to a charging station once or twice a week and leaving it there for a couple of hours but to each their own. Wait until more people get EV's and then you have to wait a couple hours for those to charge their cars, and then charge your car for a couple hours, thats what was happening in China before they up'd their infrastructure. 

 

I haven't came across any cases of ICE car owners stranded on the roadside due to no gas either but there's videos of it online, as there is videos of people running out of battery on EV's as well, thats just not a common thing since we have fuel level indicators and battery level indicators. Running out of charge on the side of the road isn't the issue, the issue is charging the EV practically right now and it doesn't seem practical for a majority of people. 

I do believe we are getting somewhere in a constructive discussion.

On condo dwellers vs landed property. Outside of downtown Pattaya and Bangkok, I would argue that more vehicle owners live in landed property as opposed to apartments. This is based on personal observation after 15 yrs in Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai and frequent visits to Pattaya and Isaan). Thus I would argue that for a majority of car owners, home charging is very practical.

 

It has been debated many times on this thread and others that travelling long distances in Thailand is very doable. Plenty of English speaking videos on YT about this. Travelling from BKK to CM might add only an extra hour if you want to do the journey in a day. Breaking up the journey with an overnight enroute at a resort won’t even add any extra time as you can charge overnight at the resort. The savings in petrol can already pay for the overnight.

 

Directly across the Makro nearest to me is a Bangchak with 2 charging points. I can easily see myself charging there with the aircon, reading Aseannow while the wife is shopping at Makro. Easy peasy ????

[dj230]

40 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I do believe we are getting somewhere in a constructive discussion.

On condo dwellers vs landed property. Outside of downtown Pattaya and Bangkok, I would argue that more vehicle owners live in landed property as opposed to apartments. This is based on personal observation after 15 yrs in Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai and frequent visits to Pattaya and Isaan). Thus I would argue that for a majority of car owners, home charging is very practical.

 

It has been debated many times on this thread and others that travelling long distances in Thailand is very doable. Plenty of English speaking videos on YT about this. Travelling from BKK to CM might add only an extra hour if you want to do the journey in a day. Breaking up the journey with an overnight enroute at a resort won’t even add any extra time as you can charge overnight at the resort. The savings in petrol can already pay for the overnight.

 

Directly across the Makro nearest to me is a Bangchak with 2 charging points. I can easily see myself charging there with the aircon, reading Aseannow while the wife is shopping at Makro. Easy peasy ????

I am actually one who is pro-EV, but there has to be infrastructure to make it practical. 

 

2 charging points is great now, until there is more EV's and you're in line behind a few cars for charging, if more people buy EV's thats what will happen, there needs to be more infrastructure built in my opinion and superchargers, until then adoption can't be done from a practical point of view. 

 

EV's in itself have a few technological issues, I have been looking into them as I am always looking at investments regarding EV's. It seems like the battery degradation issue is still not being resolved and had investors concerned, how much of an issue this is, well, time will tell, especially with less reputable EV's which haven't had the test of time. Just last week a viral photo trending on some investment social media was showing GM charging $30k for a battery swap, I think Tesla charges around $10k which isn't bad. Tesla's batteries are also have been used for a while so that seems like the most practical EV (car) right now.

 

Would be interesting to see how EV's handle the Thai heat, rain season, possible floods, etc. I saw some cheaper branded EV's in this thread, will be interesting to see how they compare to Tesla's. 

 

Still lots of things need to happen before I would consider an EV in Thailand a practical vehicle vs an ICE vehicle. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by dj230

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, dj230 said:

I am actually one who is pro-EV, but there has to be infrastructure to make it practical. 

 

2 charging points is great now, until there is more EV's and you're in line behind a few cars for charging, if more people buy EV's thats what will happen, there needs to be more infrastructure built in my opinion and superchargers, until then adoption can't be done from a practical point of view. 

 

EV's in itself have a few technological issues, I have been looking into them as I am always looking at investments regarding EV's. It seems like the battery degradation issue is still not being resolved and had investors concerned, how much of an issue this is, well, time will tell, especially with less reputable EV's which haven't had the test of time. Just last week a viral photo trending on some investment social media was showing GM charging $30k for a battery swap, I think Tesla charges around $10k which isn't bad. Tesla's batteries are also have been used for a while so that seems like the most practical EV (car) right now.

 

Would be interesting to see how EV's handle the Thai heat, rain season, possible floods, etc. I saw some cheaper branded EV's in this thread, will be interesting to see how they compare to Tesla's. 

 

Still lots of things need to happen before I would consider an EV in Thailand a practical vehicle vs an ICE vehicle. 

I cannot hope nor do I wish to change your mind about the practicalities of EVs at the present moment. What I like to do however is to debate relevant issues about owning an EV.

 

Firstly, charging. As discussed, if one lives in a landed property, home charging is more convenient and cheaper than going to a gas station. Living in a condo might be a bit more challenging unless one lives in a condo that is able to provide the owner with a charging point in your designated parking bay. Not sure about Thailand but know for a fact that this is being done in quite a large number of condos in Malaysia. Long distance driving is fairly easy unless you have to drive over 400 km every day. In that case, EV won’t be suitable either now or in 10 years time.

 

Secondly, battery life. EVs has been around for more than 10 years and with very few exceptions, battery degradation hasn’t really been an issue. Most manufacturers give an 8 year warranty on the battery (degradation no more than 80%) which means a drop in range from 400 km to 320 km. No big deal (for me) over 8 years and once again, no issue except possibly for long distance trips. Furthermore, if you observe the price drop for batteries over the past 10 years, then I would imagine replacing a battery in 10 years time would be considerably less than it is today.

 

Thirdly, battery management, care and durability. With the exception of the Leaf, battery systems nowadays have thermal cooling. This extends the life of the battery and also prevents it from overheating in day to day usage. They are also fully sealed against water ingress and I would venture that an EV would fare much better than and ICE (no air intake and all that). Watch the video of the fully submerged Volvo C40.

 

Fourthly, and this is the real killer. Maintenance and running (cost per mile) costs are a fraction of a comparable ICE. 

 

So what’s not to like? If you’re a home owner or renter, long trips might take slightly longer. If I need to make a long distance trip in a hurry, I’ll just take my ICE vehicle.

 

 

[Doonald]

22 hours ago, CLW said:

Too bad the Han won't be coming, as it's a real competitor for Tesla and other western EV brands. 

The Seal quite attractive to me as well. Would be the first affordable sedan EV for Thailand 

Damn, was really hoping to get my hands on a Tang, might have to settle for the smaller Atto 3 (as it's called in Oz).

Has anyone managed to get any information on expected launch dates for BYD ?

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, Doonald said:

Damn, was really hoping to get my hands on a Tang, might have to settle for the smaller Atto 3 (as it's called in Oz).

Has anyone managed to get any information on expected launch dates for BYD ?

 

Unfortunately we have no information yet about launch dates. The Reseller has only just been announced last week.

 

I believe the BYD Seal (Atto 4) will be coming to Thailand, although they will probably start with the Atto 3 as in Oz

 

 

 

[Doonald]

Has anyone been to the Big Motor Sale in Banga this week ?

 

wondering whether there any EVs worth seeing:

 

https://www.facebook.com/bigmotorsale.yanyont/

Edited August 29, 2022 by Doonald

[KhunLA]

Your answer is on the FB page you linked.  More than a few EVs, cars & SOCO Motorcycles.  Peaked at the photos for a minute or 2 and many display.  If I was near, I might have popped in for peek, if free and no vax or test needed ... ????

 

All a bit mute, since it ended yesterday ... ????

[placeholder]

On 8/28/2022 at 1:27 PM, dj230 said:

Plenty? Or they exist? How many EV charging stations are there versus gas stations? and how long does it take to charge

 

If everyone had an EV in Thailand would there be enough? I think less than a few % (2-3%?) of the condo I was in owned an EV and they were already fighting about the chargers. What happens when you have no charge and theres no charger available? 

 

I like EV's but in Thailand it doesn't seem realistic right now, I could see if you had a home and charged it at home but for the mass population it wouldn't make sense.

 

I have been looking into BEV's for investment opportunities, even China is having issues with their power grid handling the EV's. Also it seems like superchargers would be required to make EV's more of a realistic mode of transportation for the general public, with fast charging times of ~20 minutes. It seems like a lot of countries have enough infrastructure for the switch, especially the US. I don't think Thailand is there yet, especially because adoption usually happens exponentially. 

 

You seem to forget that for most homeowners,  most of your charging will be done at home. 

[Doonald]

9 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Your answer is on the FB page you linked.  More than a few EVs, cars & SOCO Motorcycles.  Peaked at the photos for a minute or 2 and many display.  If I was near, I might have popped in for peek, if free and no vax or test needed ... ????

 

All a bit mute, since it ended yesterday ... ????

ach missed it…

[Bandersnatch]

Here in Surin not only do we have EAA chargers at Robinson, MG chargers at the MG dealer. I have been told that Great Wall will be installing a charger at their dealer here. PEA told me that a EV charger is coming to their main office soon.

 

Yesterday I stopped at my local PTT for a visit to 7-11 and I noticed a brand new PTT EV charger

 

 

 

Charging speed:

 

 

 

I downloaded the app and signed up for an account. You can pay by debit or credit card. 

 

 

 

 

[dj230]

 

 

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Here in Surin not only do we have EAA chargers at Robinson, MG chargers at the MG dealer. I have been told that Great Wall will be installing a charger at their dealer here. PEA told me that a EV charger is coming to their main office soon.

 

Yesterday I stopped at my local PTT for a visit to 7-11 and I noticed a brand new PTT EV charger

 

 

 

Charging speed:

 

 

 

I downloaded the app and signed up for an account. You can pay by debit or credit card. 

 

 

 

 

How fast are these chargers typically? The new Xpeng chargers in china are 480kwh, can charge 200km in 5 minutes, this is the type of infrastructure needed for a smooth EV transition.

 

Any companies doing supercharges in Thailand right now? Nio is releasing 500kwh super chargers soon. I wonder if Thailand will partner with China for EV infrastructure. 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by dj230

[KhunLA]

4 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Yesterday I stopped at my local PTT for a visit to 7-11 and I noticed a brand new PTT EV charger ...

Considering state owned oil producer PTT's subsidiary Arun+ will be producing Horizon autos / Neta, after the initial introduction, imported from China.  Also partnering with CATL, EV batteries in case living under a rock.  Along with others EVs, I would imagine ... 

https://www.wapcar.my/news/thai-ev-makers-set-to-benefit-with-technology-from-chinese-battery-giant-catl-47220

 

So I would expect them to quickly jump on the bandwagon and offer plenty of charging option at the huge network of petrol station / PTT Parks nationwide.

 

For the Anti EV'ers ... state owned petrol producer PTT ...  producing EVs ...  Let that sink in ... Take as long as you need ????

https://paultan.org/2022/08/26/neta-v-ev-launched-in-thailand-38-5-kwh-384-km-range-initial-cbu-china-before-ckd-by-ptt-rm68k/

 

https://www.mreport.co.th/en/news/industry-movement/328-Arun-Plus-partner-CATL-for-CTP-technology-driving-EV-battery

 

https://www.pttplc.com/en/Media/News/Content-30322.aspx

 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by KhunLA