Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[macahoom]

BYD has announced, this afternoon, that the Seal will be launched on September 28.

 

Looking forward to learning the Thai price and spec.

[tomkenet]

Exciting news about Seal, Volvo ex 30 will also be launched soon. Not sure which one to choose. Afraid the Volvo will be overpriced in Thailand.

[matchar]

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/byd/seal

[JBChiangRai]

49 minutes ago, tomkenet said:

Exciting news about Seal, Volvo ex 30 will also be launched soon. Not sure which one to choose. Afraid the Volvo will be overpriced in Thailand.

They are both Chinese cars so spec for spec they should be priced similarly.

[tomkenet]

12 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

They are both Chinese cars so spec for spec they should be priced similarly.

They should, but they probably think Thai market is willing to pay more for the European brand name with Scandinavian design.

[JBChiangRai]

9 minutes ago, tomkenet said:

They should, but they probably think Thai market is willing to pay more for the European brand name with Scandinavian design.

I have an MG4, the idea of it being a British Brand with British design doesn't fly with me.

 

They have a design centre in London, probably staffed with Chinese in supervisory positions and if HQ in China doesn't like the design then it's back to the drawing board, literally.

 

Volvo will be no different, and that's a good thing.  I wouldn't buy either brand if they weren't Chinese.

[macahoom]

22 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I have an MG4, the idea of it being a British Brand with British design doesn't fly with me.

 

They have a design centre in London, probably staffed with Chinese in supervisory positions and if HQ in China doesn't like the design then it's back to the drawing board, literally.

 

Volvo will be no different, and that's a good thing.  I wouldn't buy either brand if they weren't Chinese.

Yeh sure, but what about 1924, Morris Garages, performance rides, heritage, Union Jack flags on the boot and the British iconic MG name?

 

Eh? Well? What have you got to say about that, young man?

[JBChiangRai]

14 minutes ago, macahoom said:

Yeh sure, but what about 1924, Morris Garages, performance rides, heritage, Union Jack flags on the boot and the British iconic MG name?

 

Eh? Well? What have you got to say about that, young man?

One of the first things I did with my MG4 is remove all of those tacky badges.

 

I'm a bit old school, if the manufacturer of my T-shirt (or car) wants to advertise their brand, then they can pay me, otherwise it's coming off and I ain't wearing it!  Actually, I don't buy any brand name clothes for that reason.  

 

Here's a photo of my debadged MG4 and me with my daughter wearing an unbranded T-Shirt at a birthday party last week.  

 

 

[Yellowtail]

43 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

One of the first things I did with my MG4 is remove all of those tacky badges.

 

I'm a bit old school, if the manufacturer of my T-shirt (or car) wants to advertise their brand, then they can pay me, otherwise it's coming off and I ain't wearing it!  Actually, I don't buy any brand name clothes for that reason.  

 

Here's a photo of my debadged MG4 and me with my daughter wearing an unbranded T-Shirt at a birthday party last week.  

 

 

The car matches the shirt....

[JBChiangRai]

11 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

The car matches the shirt....

You've obviously never driven one.

[JBChiangRai]

This is an honest account of my experience with EV’s.

 

My first experience was with a Mercedes E350e back in 2018.

 

I loved the silent e-drive but grossly underpowered and often ran out of electrons, real world e-range was 19km.

 

I ordered a Porsche Taycan in 2020 and got one June 2021. A fantastic car and my first impressions were why would anyone want so much power? Within a few weeks I was using all that power and loved the car. It had to be trailered under warranty back to the authorised dealer in Bangkok twice for air conditioning failures.

 

When MG offered the incentive on the MG EP+ I ordered one for my eldest daughter, I knew I would save a lot of money with her going to another province for University.

 

It came when she was at Uni and I used it for a week and was so impressed I ordered one for myself.  I normally do about 5,000km per year which is important for depreciation on a Porsche and I was now doing nearly treble that visiting my daughters at Uni every fortnight.

 

Ordering an MG EP+ was simply to keep the miles off the Porsche.

 

I was invited to the launch of the MG4 and still couldn’t get a delivery date on my EP+ but could get an MG4 instantly.  I took the MG4 but struggled with whether it was really worth almost 25% more than the EP+.  Similar performance, smaller car but rear wheel drive.

 

I started using the MG4 for the drive to Chiang Mai to see my daughters and began to love the car and especially its  suspension and handling.  It’s not without its faults, sometimes pulling away from the line it loses traction and the electronics kick in before full power again and this can be repeated 3 times up to 40-50 km/hr.  The car is overpowered for the tyres and that is in the dry!  I began to love the MG4 driving it spiritedly.  The closest I can compare it to is a VW Golf GTI. If you’ve driven a hot hatch you will know how much fun they are - for the driver anyway.

 

I found I was mostly choosing my MG4 over the Porsche and instead of being my alternate ride once a fortnight, it had become my daily ride.

 

Don’t misunderstand me, the Porsche is a far superior car, but it’s 10x the price and maybe only 2x the fun.

 

I had ordered an MG Cyberster for Q3/Q4 2024 and decided to sell my Porsche at it’s 2nd birthday June 2023. I like the MG4 enough to daily drive it until then and a Porsche out of warranty is like playing Russian Roulette with your bank account.  Porsche’s have 12-18 month delivery times and are one of the slowest depreciating cars you can buy if you keep the miles off. I lost 10% in 2 years.

 

Driving the MG4 still puts a smile on my face every time I get in it.  They got so much right with the car.

 

EV’s are getting Hypercar fast and the struggle I think will be to get the handling and braking right.  I did read MG used an F1 guy to get the handling right on the Cyberster, I am hopeful.

 

 

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

You've obviously never driven one.

You're obviously misinformed, 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

This is an honest account of my experience with EV’s.

 

My first experience was with a Mercedes E350e back in 2018.

 

I loved the silent e-drive but grossly underpowered and often ran out of electrons, real world e-range was 19km.

 

I ordered a Porsche Taycan in 2020 and got one June 2021. A fantastic car and my first impressions were why would anyone want so much power? Within a few weeks I was using all that power and loved the car. It had to be trailered under warranty back to the authorised dealer in Bangkok twice for air conditioning failures.

 

When MG offered the incentive on the MG EP+ I ordered one for my eldest daughter, I knew I would save a lot of money with her going to another province for University.

 

It came when she was at Uni and I used it for a week and was so impressed I ordered one for myself.  I normally do about 5,000km per year which is important for depreciation on a Porsche and I was now doing nearly treble that visiting my daughters at Uni every fortnight.

 

Ordering an MG EP+ was simply to keep the miles off the Porsche.

 

I was invited to the launch of the MG4 and still couldn’t get a delivery date on my EP+ but could get an MG4 instantly.  I took the MG4 but struggled with whether it was really worth almost 25% more than the EP+.  Similar performance, smaller car but rear wheel drive.

 

I started using the MG4 for the drive to Chiang Mai to see my daughters and began to love the car and especially its  suspension and handling.  It’s not without its faults, sometimes pulling away from the line it loses traction and the electronics kick in before full power again and this can be repeated 3 times up to 40-50 km/hr.  The car is overpowered for the tyres and that is in the dry!  I began to love the MG4 driving it spiritedly.  The closest I can compare it to is a VW Golf GTI. If you’ve driven a hot hatch you will know how much fun they are - for the driver anyway.

 

I found I was mostly choosing my MG4 over the Porsche and instead of being my alternate ride once a fortnight, it had become my daily ride.

 

Don’t misunderstand me, the Porsche is a far superior car, but it’s 10x the price and maybe only 2x the fun.

 

I had ordered an MG Cyberster for Q3/Q4 2024 and decided to sell my Porsche at it’s 2nd birthday June 2023. I like the MG4 enough to daily drive it until then and a Porsche out of warranty is like playing Russian Roulette with your bank account.  Porsche’s have 12-18 month delivery times and are one of the slowest depreciating cars you can buy if you keep the miles off. I lost 10% in 2 years.

 

Driving the MG4 still puts a smile on my face every time I get in it.  They got so much right with the car.

 

EV’s are getting Hypercar fast and the struggle I think will be to get the handling and braking right.  I did read MG used an F1 guy to get the handling right on the Cyberster, I am hopeful.

 

 

Yeah, but but but fake British heritage etc.

Really interesting post, thank you. I have been waiting for the XE30 before making my choice to go electric but am now definitely going to try an MG4. I might book a test drive for next week and will report back.

Can't wait to hear how the Cyberster is whenever you receive it. I am guessing you've put a deposit down without knowing the final price? Have they given any indication?

[matchar]

Has anyone been for a test drive with MG? I had booked one for today but they just told me there's no insurance and I have to sign a contract for liability in case of any accident so I think I'm going to cancel.

 

Too many uninsured drivers around in Thailand...

[matchar]

This is the test drive form in Thai. I'm not sure if it's the same for all dealers.

[kennw]

On 4/23/2022 at 9:39 AM, KhunLA said:

I would love to see the 'tinker' cars, Wuling & Pocco simply priced closer to China's pricing.  

China about ฿200k +/-

Thailand ฿400k & ฿500k 

 

One does wonder (not me) why they aren't sold here for ฿300k.  Still a nice profit, and affordable to most.   With the Suzuki Celerio starting at ฿330k, who on the lower income scale is going to buy an EV.

 

Mini EV range 'rated' at 170 kms ... maybe, Celerio is almost 700 kms.

What is the battery size for Celerio? for that range and current kWh/km indicative of 140kWh battery capacity? Thought the current max around 100 kWh? 

[JBChiangRai]

24 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Yeah, but but but fake British heritage etc.

Really interesting post, thank you. I have been waiting for the XE30 before making my choice to go electric but am now definitely going to try an MG4. I might book a test drive for next week and will report back.

Can't wait to hear how the Cyberster is whenever you receive it. I am guessing you've put a deposit down without knowing the final price? Have they given any indication?

They haven’t given any indication of the Cyberster on price, but know what I’m expecting, I don’t like to post it because I don’t want to encourage them to set a high price.  I put a deposit down last year.

 

GWM asked me how much I thought the H6 PHEV should be and I regret giving such a high figure.

 

Yep, absolutely fake British heritage, likewise Volvo is fake Swedish heritage-and that’s a good thing! The Chinese know to build superb EV’s.  If it was British, my MG would’ve broken down before I got home from the dealer.

[JBChiangRai]

32 minutes ago, matchar said:

Has anyone been for a test drive with MG? I had booked one for today but they just told me there's no insurance and I have to sign a contract for liability in case of any accident so I think I'm going to cancel.

 

Too many uninsured drivers around in Thailand...

Actually that doesn’t sound right. When my daughter, test drove the MG EP+, they asked her for her driving license to make sure she was insured. They copied it and gave it back to her.

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, matchar said:

Has anyone been for a test drive with MG? I had booked one for today but they just told me there's no insurance and I have to sign a contract for liability in case of any accident so I think I'm going to cancel.

 

Too many uninsured drivers around in Thailand...

I think you’ll are you doing yourself a disservice if you cancel, it’s a fantastic car and you should experience it.

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, matchar said:

Has anyone been for a test drive with MG? I had booked one for today but they just told me there's no insurance and I have to sign a contract for liability in case of any accident so I think I'm going to cancel.

 

Too many uninsured drivers around in Thailand...

Have test driven multiple MG EVs over the years and never had to sign a form accepting liability.

Try another dealer, there are plenty about.

[Andrew Dwyer]

2 hours ago, matchar said:

Has anyone been for a test drive with MG? I had booked one for today but they just told me there's no insurance and I have to sign a contract for liability in case of any accident so I think I'm going to cancel.

 

Too many uninsured drivers around in Thailand...

Add me to the test drive list :

Tested the ZS back in 2019 and the ZS 2020 in 2020, also the MG4 some 6 (?) months ago.

On all 3 occasions showed my drivers license and was good to go.

 

[JBChiangRai]

If anyone is interested this is my MG4.

 

I chose the optional dealer fitted bodykit and black front badge, about an extra 13,000 baht.

[tomkenet]

3 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

I have been waiting for the XE30 before making my choice to go electric but am now definitely going to try an MG4.

My candidates for first electric car is ex30 and seal (AWD versions) because I am excited about the power and amazing acceleration they have. The handling performance probably will not reach the power performance though .

[Yorkshire Tea]

55 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

If anyone is interested this is my MG4.

 

I chose the optional dealer fitted bodykit and black front badge, about an extra 13,000 baht.

Rear end is a design disaster, but at least you won't be looking at it ????

[transam]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

If anyone is interested this is my MG4.

 

I chose the optional dealer fitted bodykit and black front badge, about an extra 13,000 baht.

I can't believe you posted those pictures..............It looks ridiculous...????

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, transam said:

I can't believe you posted those pictures..............It looks ridiculous...????

I was wondering how long it would take you.

 

Didn't your mother ever tell you, if you don't have anything nice to say then keep quiet?

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

Rear end is a design disaster, but at least you won't be looking at it ????

I like it, but then I'm partial to rear ends.

[Fruit Trader]

1 hour ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

Rear end is a design disaster, but at least you won't be looking at it ????

It's not so much of a dogs breakfast if viewed from below in good light and I have always liked Ford performance blue. Definitely the budget fix for a midlife crisis.

 

[JBChiangRai]

47 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

It's not so much of a dogs breakfast if viewed from below in good light and I have always liked Ford performance blue. Definitely the budget fix for a midlife crisis.

 

My mid-life crisis was a Honda (Acura) NSX at 40 years old. My wife hated it but I felt years younger.

[josephbloggs]

5 hours ago, tomkenet said:

My candidates for first electric car is ex30 and seal (AWD versions) because I am excited about the power and amazing acceleration they have. The handling performance probably will not reach the power performance though .

I'm with you there, ex30 is my first choice but Seal AWD is really interesting too - very similar performance figures, but I think the Volvo looks cooler. The MG4 seems a little slow but everyone says it is a lot of fun to drive so will give it a go as nothing to lose and I have an open mind.  I do want speed and some luxury touches though so think the xe30 ticks most boxes.

 

Spent a few days with an electric XC40, also a C40 and the performance is addictive. The xe30 takes it up a couple of notches - I know someone who has driven one and they say it is phenomenal. Switching to a 170bhp mg4 that is slower than my petrol XC40 doesn't sound appealing but JBChiangRai's review has made me at least consider trying it as it does sound like it's fun to drive and outright acceleration isn't everything (although for me it is a large percentage).

I have no interest in Teslas.