Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[Yellowtail]

18 minutes ago, stratocaster said:

I consider the UK to be 5 years ahead of Thailand so UK problems now will be Thailand's problems in the future. Take a look at the number of charging stations in the UK on Zapp map compared to Thailand. My mate who sends me weekly reports, runs an MG ZS EV as a daily driver. He lives in a flat so can not charge from home. Trying to get a charging point on a Saturday or Sunday is nearly impossible. Don't even think of going to the UK seaside at the weekend and being able to charge while you visit. (Just think of all those EVs going to Pattaya and needing to find a charge point). You will have to charge before or after your visit. He recently drove to Glasgow from London in the middle of winter. Took 15 hours and five stops for charging. Regarding range remember that only a fool will let their charge drop below 20% and nobody charges above 80% due to the time required.

The future in Thailand looks frightening when you have a government minister saying that all EVs have a 500 to 600 kilo range so only 40 to 50 charging stations are needed for the whole of Thailand.

Is the government refusing to issues permits to people that want to build charging stations? 

[SymS]

On 4/23/2022 at 11:39 AM, Bandersnatch said:

Agreed it is a bit odd - I did a google translate of the Thai page, but maybe they haven't updated the English Language web page yet 

I passed by a GM shop yesterday, so I went to check the car and ask questions.
They don't have any for now. The government program still needs confirmation, and it should start maybe next month.
The waiting list is long and people who purchase may expect next year delivery.
When ask whether I could benefit from the subsidies even without Thai ID card, he said it should be OK if I pay cash.



 

[Henryford]

On 4/22/2022 at 11:53 AM, buddy2010 said:

I had been seriously interested in an e-vehicle!

The problem is, for me anyway, that I am not allowed to install a wallbox in my condominium!
Neither in the underground parking nor outside!!!

Argument: Common Area, may not be used privately!

One of the owners in my condo in Pattaya bought a Volvo EV and charges it in the undercover car park using a dedicated parking bay and charge outlet. Not sure what he might have paid to get it though.

[KhunLA]

18 minutes ago, SymS said:

I passed by a GM shop yesterday, so I went to check the car and ask questions.
They don't have any for now. The government program still needs confirmation, and it should start maybe next month.
The waiting list is long and people who purchase may expect next year delivery.
When ask whether I could benefit from the subsidies even without Thai ID card, he said it should be OK if I pay cash.

Not really (MG, assuming typo).  If on the MG group pages, some are scheduled for delivery in May actually, hopefully for them.  

 

I believe MG is also trying to spread the inventory out, to every dealership, so if a dealer already as a few orders in, they will be moved down the Q, for other dealers to get their 1 or 2 orders filled.

 

That's the impression I'm getting from reading groups.  Good marketing actually, and get the EVs out there to be seen, countrywide.  Their marketing strategies seem to be working quite good, along with their expansion of dealerships countrywide.

 

We even have one now, and the Amphur isn't exacted that populated, but 1 hour / 94 kms from Hua Hin's dealership, and 2 hours / 179 kms from Chumphon's.  Trying to keep with their promise of a dealership/charging station within 150 kms of each other ????

 

Keep them under 200 kms apart, and MG owners should have no problem when out & about, even at highway speeds.

 

[Skallywag]

8 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Keep them under 200 kms apart, and MG owners should have no problem when out & about, even at highway speeds.

MG claims it had 414 charging stations in Thailand in 2019 (bottom in link).  Web page has not been updated that I can find, but thought that was quite a large number for 2-3 years ago

https://www.mgcars.com/en/innovation/ev/charging-station

[KhunLA]

6 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

MG claims it had 414 charging stations in Thailand in 2019

Shooting for 500+ last year (500+108 ???).  Don't know if they succeeded.

 

"MG also continues to open MG SUPER CHARGE following the success in installing charging stations at 108 MG showrooms across Thailand and expects to expand to 500 more locations within this year.Mar 19, 2564 BE"

[Bandersnatch]

45 minutes ago, SymS said:

The waiting list is long and people who purchase may expect next year delivery.

Interesting that you mention about long wait times. I have seen on some FB groups requests for anyone selling a secondhand PHEV or EV. Seems that the rising price of Gasohol in Thailand has got more people considering EVs 

 

I looked on one2car.com for EVs under ฿1,000,000  and found only 4

 

 

[CharlieH]

Reported off topic post removed.

[SymS]

Just some other tidbits I got from going to MG shop yesterday.

Charging times for the EP Plus model.

 

Fast charge 0 to 80%: 40 minutes
Charge at home with home charger: a little more than 7 hours.

 

I've also asked if it was possible to charge from standard wall socket. The good news is that it is, but he told me charging for 24 hours would top the battery by around 30%. I'm renting two houses, so I asked the price for an additional home charger, he first said he'd need to check, but then said 20,000 to 30,000 Baht for an extra home charger.

 

Batteries are currently extremely expensive. A replacement battery would cost 450,000 Baht! But the EP Plus comes with an 8-year warranty (or 180,000 kilometers), and he expects batteries to come down in price, especially once they start being manufactured in Thailand. I was told MG plans to have EV and battery manufacturing plants in Thailand within about 2 years.

[Bandersnatch]

35 minutes ago, SymS said:

I've also asked if it was possible to charge from standard wall socket. The good news is that it is, but he told me charging for 24 hours would top the battery by around 30%.

Not true. The supplied "Granny Charger" is rated at 2.3kW and supplied wall box is 7kW 

 

24hours x 2.3kW = 55.2kWh and the battery capacity of the EP is 50kWh

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

Not including the new Government EV discounts here is a good list of EVs available in Thailand some of which are not supported by local dealers.

 

 

[KhunLA]

31 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

Not including the new Government EV discounts here is a good list of EVs available in Thailand some of which are not supported by local dealers.

Noticed 2022 vs 2021 list w/ 4 additions:

3 BMWs added  ... ฿3.4 - 6 mill ????

1 GWM (Ora Good Cat) added of course

 

Still have the 2 much lower spec'd 'tinker cars' out there,

Wuling & POCCO @ ฿400 & ฿500k respectfully.

 

Along with at least 3 brands of E-motorcycles that can be registered,

from ฿37k & up.

[eezergood]

On 4/22/2022 at 10:41 AM, Bandersnatch said:

The cost of electricity in Thailand is cheap. The UK is now about ฿17/kWh.

 

T.O.U. rate overnight in Thailand is ฿2.6/kWh

Electricity is charged on a sliding scale based on consumption - the more you use, the more it costs. Also the grid is not stable in all areas of the country.....

[Bandersnatch]

34 minutes ago, eezergood said:

Electricity is charged on a sliding scale based on consumption - the more you use, the more it costs. 

I quoted TOU where the sliding scale does not apply 

 

 

[CharlieH]

Reported off topic post removed.

[eezergood]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

I quoted TOU where the sliding scale does not apply 

 

 

could you send me the link for this & do you happen to know what the times are?

 

also the grid still is not stable - better, but not a guarentee

 

[CLW]

On 4/24/2022 at 12:30 PM, ivor bigun said:

looks like our son is going to buy a good cat ,terrible name though ,anyone know if you live in a detached house ,how do you get a charging point,does it just come from your house supply and plug into the wall of the house?

Without knowing exact details, you need a separate wiring and fuse from the incoming main power line and connect to the wallbox (high capacity charger).

MG will do it as a service afaik. GWM supposedly has similar options. 

If you use a regular household plug it's going to take ages to fully charge the EV. Plus it is not good for the existing wiring (heating eg. danger of a fire)

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, eezergood said:

...the grid still is not stable - better, but not a guarentee

 

You could easily get a voltage regulator to smooth the power out. I won't help when the power is off, but it will when the power is low or "unstable".

[Bandersnatch]

Thailand to only allow BEV sales from 2035

 

The Thai government will only allow purely electric vehicles to be sold from 2035 onwards. Along the way to this goal, the aim is also for electric vehicles to account for 50 per cent – and not 30 per cent as previously planned – of all new car registrations by the end of this decade.

[eezergood]

15 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

You could easily get a voltage regulator to smooth the power out. I won't help when the power is off, but it will when the power is low or "unstable".

Understood - but yes I was referring to the power outages, far less frequent than in previous years but still enough to cause real annoyance. 

[buddy2010]

On 24.4.2022 at 16:34, Bandersnatch said:

 

 

Du hast das Gleiche zweimal in diesem Thread gepostet - keine Ahnung warum

 

Die meisten in Thailand gebauten Eigentumswohnungen haben keinen zugewiesenen Parkplatz, da es nicht genügend Parkplätze gibt, um jeder Eigentumswohnung einen Parkplatz zu geben. Wenn Ihre Eigentumswohnung dies jedoch tut, können Sie dem Verwaltungsausschuss vorschlagen, die Installation einer Wandbox in Ihrer Wohnung und den dazugehörigen Zähler zu bezahlen. Das Gebäude würde wahrscheinlich einen Gewinn aus dem Verkauf von Strom an Sie und eine monatliche Verwaltungsgebühr für die Zählerablesung erwarten.  

 

Als ich in einem Verwaltungsausschuss war, haben wir falsch geparkte Fahrzeuge mit einem Bußgeld zur Freigabe belegt.

 

 

Not the same, but similar ???? !

 

You posted the same thing twice in this thread - no idea why.

[Longwood50]

Green New Deal advocates continue to push for electric vehicles but without the necessary domestic supply of batteries.

For now, the United States is dependent on the Chinese Communist Party for the necessary critical minerals and other elements needed to build them.

The two most essential and expensive components of lithium-ion batteries, cathodes and anodes, are almost exclusively produced in China.

 

Seems like this is a repeat of where Europe currently is dependent on Russia for its oil and gas and the world was at one time almost totally dependent on OPEC for oil. 

 A person only has to look at Thailand's purchase of a submarine and the supplier refuses to ship the engine to view what happens when you are held captive to a single source.  



 

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, eezergood said:

Understood - but yes I was referring to the power outages, far less frequent than in previous years but still enough to cause real annoyance. 

Why not get a back-up generator? I don't remember the last time we had a power-out that lasted more than a few seconds. 

[eezergood]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Why not get a back-up generator? I don't remember the last time we had a power-out that lasted more than a few seconds. 

Even if I did - this would not (in all reality)  be sufficient to charge my electric car and I would prioritise my home above my vehicle - i.e. air con, lights, etc....... give that this is a discussion about electric vehicles the (diesel I can assume) generator makes this a redundant point of view. 

 

Not sure where you are base, but in Phuket they are  (far less than before as I stated) a reasonably frequent occurrence. 

[SymS]

On 4/25/2022 at 11:56 AM, Bandersnatch said:

Not true. The supplied "Granny Charger" is rated at 2.3kW and supplied wall box is 7kW 

 

24hours x 2.3kW = 55.2kWh and the battery capacity of the EP is 50kWh

 

 

That's using the Home Charger, I asked about connecting to car to a wall socket, the same used as my fridge...

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, SymS said:

That's using the Home Charger, I asked about connecting to car to a wall socket, the same used as my fridge...

The MG comes with 2 chargers:

1) Wall box - fixed to the wall

2) Mobile charger known as the “Granny Charger” because it’s slow. It has a type 2 AC connector on one end to plug into the car and the other end is a plug. (Unplug the fridge and plug in the granny charger)

 

What the MG dealer told you about the granny charger is not correct, unlike me he has probably never used one and does know that it has 2.3kW charging capacity.

 

Wall Box:

 

 

Granny charger:

 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, eezergood said:

Even if I did - this would not (in all reality)  be sufficient to charge my electric car and I would prioritise my home above my vehicle - i.e. air con, lights, etc....... give that this is a discussion about electric vehicles the (diesel I can assume) generator makes this a redundant point of view. 

 

Not sure where you are base, but in Phuket they are  (far less than before as I stated) a reasonably frequent occurrence. 

I've been in Bangkok for a few years, but I lived in Prachinburi for 18 years before that. It went off more often in Prachinburi, and for longer periods, but not more than once a month and generally for no longer than a half hour. 

 

How often does it go off in Phuket?

 

I was not suggesting you buy an EV and charge it with a generator, but I am surprised that anyone living somewhere where the power goes off often enough and long enough that they would not be able to keep a car charged would buy a generator. Does it not get hot when the power goes off?

 

 

[Yellowtail]

38 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

The MG comes with 2 chargers:

1) Wall box - fixed to the wall

2) Mobile charger known as the “Granny Charger” because it’s slow. It has a type 2 AC connector on one end to plug into the car and the other end is a plug. (Unplug the fridge and plug in the granny charger)

 

What the MG dealer told you about the granny charger is not correct, unlike me he has probably never used one and does know that it has 2.3kW charging capacity.

 

Wall Box:

 

 

 

Granny charger:

 

 

 

Your refrigerator uses a different receptacle  than mine.

 

 

[billzant]

This is a tentative post. I will be buying one more car and would like to buy electric, not now but when my Mazda Bt50 (7 ½ years old) starts to go wrong -  fine at the moment. I would prefer a big pickup like I have but don’t think they do them - prefer EV more.

 

I live in rural Thailand 8 kms from Meuang Trat, am not sure but think there are 2 charging stations in Trat and one in Saen Tung. To be honest I rarely travel outside Trat so that is not too much of an issue.

 

But I would want to charge at home. Are there issues about chargers at home? The electrics in my house are iffy. Are PEA helpful about this?

 

I asked Mazda whether they will be doing anything a couple of years ago and was “laughed” at but that could just have been language.

 

Am interested in seeing where government incentives go, and whether there will be anything useable for me over the next few years? Am not too intrepid ????

[eezergood]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

I've been in Bangkok for a few years, but I lived in Prachinburi for 18 years before that. It went off more often in Prachinburi, and for longer periods, but not more than once a month and generally for no longer than a half hour. 

 

How often does it go off in Phuket?

 

I was not suggesting you buy an EV and charge it with a generator, but I am surprised that anyone living somewhere where the power goes off often enough and long enough that they would not be able to keep a car charged would buy a generator. Does it not get hot when the power goes off?

 

 

Yes it does & normally only for a few hrs - its bearable & I have other "solutions" 

I would definitely have a 2nd car as a PHEV or electric, but it requires one being organised & with kids thats not always possible.