Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[motdaeng]

few months back, i was able to test drive the volvo cx40, and I really liked it. 

i was very curious about the ex30 but the car unfortunately has some aspects 

that i don't like so much. i'm aware that i have to accept some compromises ...

 

what i like about the volvo ex30 is the design, quality, safety, performance, etc. 

however, the following points don't personally suit me:

- no driving instrument display

- no head-up display

- glass roof without shading

- performance car with mnc battery (lfp battery ony for the single motor)

- small trunk, same frunk

- no ventilated seats

- no v2l (vehicle-to-load) 

 

nevertheless, the ex30 is still on my list, also the byd seal ...

maybe a test drive can impress me enough to make a final decision ...

 

i'm also not a fan of tesla, even though their software and fuel efficiency are excellent ...

[macahoom]

18 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...

No problem when I test drove one.

 

Brilliant to drive, by the way.

[JBChiangRai]

30 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

few months back, i was able to test drive the volvo cx40, and I really liked it. 

i was very curious about the ex30 but the car unfortunately has some aspects 

that i don't like so much. i'm aware that i have to accept some compromises ...

 

what i like about the volvo ex30 is the design, quality, safety, performance, etc. 

however, the following points don't personally suit me:

- no driving instrument display

- no head-up display

- glass roof without shading

- performance car with mnc battery (lfp battery ony for the single motor)

- small trunk, same frunk

- no ventilated seats

- no v2l (vehicle-to-load) 

 

nevertheless, the ex30 is still on my list, also the byd seal ...

maybe a test drive can impress me enough to make a final decision ...

 

i'm also not a fan of tesla, even though their software and fuel efficiency are excellent ...

The way of the world seems to be to replace nice, conventional instrument displays with one (Tesla) or two flat panels.  I'm not a fan, I can't argue that they aren't functional, but I prefer them integrated into the dashboard in a more conventional but digital layout (preferably with acres of polished walnut). 

 

I like glass roof panels, but I would tint it anything up to 95% cut if it was too warm inside.

 

I love the EX30's performance figures and the colours available for the interior.

 

I am not a fan of NMC batteries, if you're planning on keeping your car 7 years or more then LFP is much more appropriate.  That said, I am not sure it would be a deal breaker for me.

 

On balance, I think I would go for the Seal AWD Performance over the Volvo, better interior, LFP batteries and superb dealer network.

[JBChiangRai]

On 9/2/2023 at 7:51 AM, 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?

This is all the cr?p the guy at my car wash removed

 

 

[Yellowtail]

16 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

This is all the cr?p the guy at my car wash removed

 

 

I think the iSmart badges are hilarious...

[actonion]

I will wait  until Thailand  can supply a Domestic Electricity supply   24/7,  without    power cuts  every other day ....

[Ralf001]

On 8/19/2023 at 7:13 PM, Bandersnatch said:

BYD Seagull an affordable mini electric car, coming to Thailand soon. Starts at $10,000 in China.

 

Good review video just surprised he didn’t mention the pink interior, hopefully there are other colour choices 

 

 

I like that it kinda looks like a Seagull turd !

[Ralf001]

6 minutes ago, actonion said:

I will wait  until Thailand  can supply a Domestic Electricity supply   24/7,  without    power cuts  every other day ....

Yeah ...... Been atleast 6 months that I can recall the last time the power went out, even then it was only for 10 minutes.

[Yellowtail]

6 minutes ago, actonion said:

I will wait  until Thailand  can supply a Domestic Electricity supply   24/7,  without    power cuts  every other day ....

I have great power, and have not had any outage for months, and then it was momentary. Had great power at my last two places as well. 

 

Where do you live that you have bad power?

[actonion]

1 minute ago, Ralf001 said:

Yeah ...... Been atleast 6 months that I can recall the last time the power went out, even then it was only for 10 minutes.

I need to  go live where u are then

[Ralf001]

Just now, actonion said:

I need to  go live where u are then

Chonburi.

[actonion]

Just now, Ralf001 said:

Chonburi.

A big area

[Ralf001]

1 minute ago, actonion said:

A big area

Thats as far as I publicly narrow down my location. Too many vindictive A-Holes on forums and social media.

[KhunLA]

9 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

I have great power, and have not had any outage for months, and then it was momentary. Had great power at my last two places as well. 

 

Where do you live that you have bad power?

We also, very rarely have power outages.  Only 1 long one, and that was scheduled, advised work on power lines. 

 

Unannounced power outages being extremely rare, maybe 3 in 5 yrs, and hardly noticed, time wise, 5-10 minutes.

 

Udon Thani was a different story,  unless a storm, then just rolling brown outs were common, but wife would call, and it would be be on in 5 mins.  Almost feel sorry for the next village that got turned off, to accommodate the city.

 

One of the pluses of have solar, even a small system w/ESS.   

 

Or that EV with V2L, if consistently having outages.  Keep the frig & a fan going at least.

[JBChiangRai]

54 minutes ago, actonion said:

I will wait  until Thailand  can supply a Domestic Electricity supply   24/7,  without    power cuts  every other day ....

We get a few power cuts each year, mostly in the rainy season.  Occasionally it will go out exactly at 9am, it's either on again in 5 minutes (hooking up a new house somewhere nearby) or stays off till 4:30pm (trimming trees).

 

Otherwise it's mostly off when a big storm for an hour, and we leave in the Central Chiang Rai postcode.

 

We have weak power, the local transformer is 100 amp/phase and it serves maybe 30 houses.

 

There are 6 large houses in our moo baan and probably about 50 A/C units.  We were all on one phase until we kept blowing the fuse at the transformer.  One evening the PEA maintenance van was stuck there shuffling fuses for an hour, new fuse and blown within 30 minutes.  They moved our development to 2 houses per phase.

 

We do have a problem with weak supply, not a massive issue but it's not ideal.

[Ralf001]

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I have less shiney stuff on my Christmas tree.

 

So we have the Chinese companies of Volvo & MG, I wonder when they will buy Cadillac? Chevy or Ford?

Siac already building Cadillac for GM.

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

I have less shiney stuff on my Christmas tree.

 

So we have the Chinese companies of Volvo & MG, I wonder when they will buy Cadillac? Chevy or Ford?

They already make them, and so many more:

China Rocks

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

I think the iSmart badges are hilarious...

I think the Brit Dynamic badges are hilarious, a completely meaningless badge.

 

I hate the badge indicating the latest fad, they age quickly, like ABS, Power Steering, 90hp, Fuel Injection etc etc

[Ralf001]

4 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think the Brit Dynamic badges are hilarious, a completely meaningless badge.

 

I hate the badge indicating the latest fad, they age quickly, like ABS, Power Steering, 90hp, Fuel Injection etc etc

I think they are a great "tip of the hat" nod to the fantastic British design team.... The team located in Britain.

 

They have been at it since 1924 and finally have it nailed !!

[Bandersnatch]

In response to the the usual “China Crap” comments.

 

MG has a design studio in London, which is where the cyberster was designed.

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

10 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

In response to the the usual “China Crap” comments.

 

MG has a design studio in London, which is where the cyberster was designed.

 

 

Nice video, thanks for that.

 

I hope the doors are electric as shown in the video, and I like how they have done the dashboard, I much prefer flat panels integrated into the dash than floating.

 

I didn't spot any Chinese faces? maybe off camera? maybe they wrote the script?

 

And I hope the batteries are LFP, but I suspect they will be NMC to get the power density.

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, actonion said:

I will wait  until Thailand  can supply a Domestic Electricity supply   24/7,  without    power cuts  every other day ....

Home Solar and EVs make a great combination. I have excess home solar production in the middle of the day which I put into my EV. The result is no fuel bills and no bill from PEA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

8 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

Home Solar and EVs make a great combination. I have excess home solar production in the middle of the day which I put into my EV. The result is no fuel bills and no bill from PEA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My solar system is Grid-Tied, I don't cycle my LFP batteries (28.8KwHr), I keep them for power cuts.

 

I did once consume 0 units, usually my bill is about 70-120 baht.  We average 66 KwHrs of power production per day over the last 26 months, about 22Kw of panels and 18Kw of Grid-Tied inverters.  One or two of my inverters often shutdown because we have a weak grid and can't pump out more than about 8Kw, which makes sunny days ideal for charging the EV's.

 

My best days are about 110 KwHrs of production, but I have to be charging the EV to do that or it's wasted.

[Bandersnatch]

49 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

MG has a design studio in London, which is where the cyberster was designed.

It makes sense for China EV manufacturers to employ European designers for cars designed for Europe. 
 

BYD employed a previous head of design at Audi who was responsible for the first Audi e-tron to design the BYD Seal

 

 

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

50 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

My solar system is Grid-Tied, I don't cycle my LFP batteries (28.8KwHr), I keep them for power cuts.

Make sense financially.
 

You get most of the savings to power the house and EV without adding batteries 

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

Excellent introduction to the history of electric cars. The author is extremely knowledgeable.

 

 

[Jai Dee]

Several baiting troll posts and replies have been removed.

[Confuscious]

Saw this last Sunday at Central Plaza in Korat.
At about 500k and 8 years warranty on the battery it's sure worth the change.
But would like to read first the "fine print" about the 8 years warranty on the batteries ...

[eezergood]

10 hours ago, Confuscious said:

Saw this last Sunday at Central Plaza in Korat.
At about 500k and 8 years warranty on the battery it's sure worth the change.
But would like to read first the "fine print" about the 8 years warranty on the batteries ...

WOuld love to see the safety ratings for these things.........

[JBChiangRai]

5 minutes ago, eezergood said:

WOuld love to see the safety ratings for these things.........

The MG4 & MGZS EV both have 5* NCAP safety ratings.