Are you thinking of buying a BYD EV?

[Celsius]

18 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Your wife avoids buying Chinese cars… how many cars has she bought in the past few years?

 

Maybe she should just stick to buying Volvos (oops sorry, that’s also a CH made car) or Teslas (oops sorry, CH made too). How about a Toyota BZ3X or whatever.. oh sorry, CH made too. Looks like your wife might have to go without a car if she wants to stick to her principles.

ROLL EYES

 

Considering she is an auto part supplier for the past 15 years I think she knows what she is talking about. You don't have a single clue what goes inside these cars. 

 

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

Just now, Celsius said:

ROLL EYES

 

Considering she is an auto part supplier for the past 15 years I think she knows what she is talking about. You don't have a single clue what goes inside these cars. 

 

I think we can safely say that people who own and drive these cars know exactly what goes inside our Chinese EV's.

 

Quality parts, engineering and a motivated workforce.

 

An auto part supplier in Thailand wouldn't have a clue what goes into a Chinese EV.

[Celsius]

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think we can safely say that people who own and drive these cars know exactly what goes inside our Chinese EV's.

 

Quality parts, engineering and a motivated workforce.

 

An auto part supplier in Thailand wouldn't have a clue what goes into a Chinese EV.

 

BYD will open a plant in Thailand. My wife was hired by American/Spanish company and one of their target eutomers is BYD. Of course most of their parts are made in China but are tested for speed and quality, Considering she has connections with engineers and garages here in Thailand I think she knows exactly which cars to avoid. And MG is one of them.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

BYD will open a plant in Thailand. My wife was hired by American/Spanish company and one of their target eutomers is BYD. Of course most of their parts are made in China but are tested for speed and quality, Considering she has connections with engineers and garages here in Thailand I think she knows exactly which cars to avoid. And MG is one of them.

That's going to upset a few here......................????

[JBChiangRai]

2 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

BYD will open a plant in Thailand. My wife was hired by American/Spanish company and one of their target eutomers is BYD. Of course most of their parts are made in China but are tested for speed and quality, Considering she has connections with engineers and garages here in Thailand I think she knows exactly which cars to avoid. And MG is one of them.

I wouldn't disagree with you on early MG models here, but they have substantially improved their quality and are no different now to any other manufacturer.

 

I would challenge any statement about current MG's.

 

Your wife will not have a clue about MG EV's manufactured in China, I would be surprised if any have been manufactured here, and I will always favour Chinese over Thai assembly..

[ExpatOilWorker]

2 hours ago, DavisH said:

Factor in the price of electricity (to charge ones car - most don't run on solar). Demand for electricity will increase it's unit price. I doubt the current grid could support hundreds of thousands of EV's charging at home daily. More demand = more coal burned to suppy the electricity. 

We already did the math, electricity consumption in Thailand will increase by 0.06% per 100,000 EVs added. ???? ???? ????. 

[Celsius]

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

 

Your wife will not have a clue about MG EV's manufactured in China, I would be surprised if any have been manufactured here, and I will always favour Chinese over Thai assembly..

 

My wife is 100% Chinese, speaks Chinese and also has connections in China. She does not know about BYD as of now but she will.

[VocalNeal]

I'm surprised no electric car maker has a model called  Magnette????

[JBChiangRai]

3 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

I'm surprised no electric car maker has a model called  Magnette????

yet...

[DavisH]

4 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

We already did the math, electricity consumption in Thailand will increase by 0.06% per 100,000 EVs added. ???? ???? ????. 

So who owns an EV here who charges at home and homw much is the electricity bill before having and EV compared to after, and how many kms are driven per week/year? I'd like to see some real data from users. And when does it become more economical to install solar (which one SHOULD do, if they actually care for post car production zero emmissions). 

[JBChiangRai]

4 minutes ago, DavisH said:

So who owns an EV here who charges at home and homw much is the electricity bill before having and EV compared to after, and how many kms are driven per week/year? I'd like to see some real data from users. And when does it become more economical to install solar (which one SHOULD do, if they actually care for post car production zero emmissions). 

Mine is the same, close to zero every month because I have solar.

[transam]

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I'm surprised no electric car maker has a model called  Magnette????

Don't speak too soon..............

 

[sirineou]

On 4/2/2023 at 8:32 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

Is there a insurance premium on BYD, Good Cat and other small EV cars in Thailand?

Insurance companies would have done their homework on the statistical probably of EV fires.

Thank you!!

If you want to know what is happening, watch what insurances are doing. . they have no bias other than the bottom line. 

[sirineou]

On 4/3/2023 at 11:25 AM, ExpatOilWorker said:

The BYD Atto 3 insurance is TWICE the price of a Toyota Cross insurance. 

Considering that the Cross statistically will do more km on the road, that is a remarkable difference. 

The OP might have a valid point and as more charging stations are opened all over Thailand we might see some flaming videos coming out.

Are charging stations in condo buildings really safe?

 

Not sure what you did there, but I researched average insurance for Toyota Corolla Cross and BYD Atto 3 and could only find stats from Malesia.

The lower replacement value  Toyota Cross average insurance for a 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross is  RM 4,005 a year. 

And the higher replacement value of the BYD atto3 had an  average  insurance for a 2023 BYD ATTO 3 is RM 4,611 a year. 

As you can see, adjusting for the replacement value difference, the insurance for both is virtually identical. 

 

https://www.wapcar.my/car-insurance/model-byd-atto-3

 

https://www.wapcar.my/car-insurance/model-toyota-corolla-cross

[VocalNeal]

47 minutes ago, transam said:

Don't speak too soon..............

 

About a 15/50 chance?

[macahoom]

15 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

About a 15/50 chance?

A little joke, only for the cognoscenti!

[ExpatOilWorker]

53 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Not sure what you did there, but I researched average insurance for Toyota Corolla Cross and BYD Atto 3 and could only find stats from Malesia.

The lower replacement value  Toyota Cross average insurance for a 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross is  RM 4,005 a year. 

And the higher replacement value of the BYD atto3 had an  average  insurance for a 2023 BYD ATTO 3 is RM 4,611 a year. 

As you can see, adjusting for the replacement value difference, the insurance for both is virtually identical. 

 

https://www.wapcar.my/car-insurance/model-byd-atto-3

 

https://www.wapcar.my/car-insurance/model-toyota-corolla-cross

Interesting and odd at the same time.

Not sure why the two quotations differ so much. Maybe someone with more insurance experience can enlighten us?

[vinny41]

9 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Interesting and odd at the same time.

Not sure why the two quotations differ so much. Maybe someone with more insurance experience can enlighten us?

Toyota Corolla Cross was any garage BYD Atto 3 was dealer 

“Currently insurance premiums for EVs are already about 20-30% higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles,” he said. “This is because the repair and maintenance of EVs require diagnostics by skilled technicians, and any repair/replacement of battery must be thoroughly analysed by technicians of the manufacturers.”

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40025694

 

High repair costs contribute to pricey EV insurance premiums: Priceza

The low number of electric cars on the road, high repair costs, lack of repair awareness, and the lack of components are responsible for the increased price of insurance for electric cars, according to car insurance price comparison website Priceza Money.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40028172

[JBChiangRai]

39 minutes ago, macahoom said:

A little joke, only for the cognoscenti!

and the very old British

[JBChiangRai]

18 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Interesting and odd at the same time.

Not sure why the two quotations differ so much. Maybe someone with more insurance experience can enlighten us?

They probably don't have any statistics on new models so err on the side of caution.

[ExpatOilWorker]

22 hours ago, Pib said:

I'm seriously considering buying either BYD Atto 3 EV or MG ZS EV.....really torn between deciding between them. The wife and I visited BYD and MG dealerships today/19 Sep and test drove a MG ZS EV this afternoon....I was impressed with the drive quality and power.   We also visited the BYD dealership this morning to look at the Atto 3 and also could have done an offerred test drive but didn't take them up on the offer....but going back tomorrow morning and do a test drive.

 

For the Atto 3 Extended Range model with 60KWH battery the price is Bt1,199,900 until the end of November when the govt subsidiary will dry up for that BYD model.   The freebies include:

 

- a basic warranty on vehicle 8 yrs/160Km,

- Traction battery warranty is also 8 yrs/160Km,

- Free Maintenance for 8 yrs/160Km,

- free road service 24 hrs a day for 8 yrs,

- free 1st class insurance for 1 yr, 

- free home wall charge (7KW) including installation,

- free portable (granny) charger,

- free Vehicle to Load adapter, 

- free car registration,

- and free matching carpet matts, rear luggage, license plate frames

 

Now for the MG EZ EV with 50KWH battery the price is Bt1,013,000 until the end of September....only another 10 days or so....appears the govt subsidiary on this model goes away before the subsidiary for the Atto 3.....beyond my brain power to figure out why the govt subsidiary length of time is shorter on the MG model vs the BYD model....but it is what it is.   But here are the freebies included in the MG dealership quote today:

 

- Free 1st class insurance for 3 (three) years....normally it's 1 yr but a special deal right now adds 2 more free years for a total of 3 yrs 1st class insurance

- free labor for 5 times/visits

- basic warranty on vehicle 4 years/120Km

- traction battery warranty 8 year/160Km

- free home wall charger (7KW) and installation

- free portable (granny) charger

- free ceramic windows film (40/60/80% light blocking)...I would go with 80% on the side window/sunroof and 40% on the front window

- free vehicle to load adapter

- free roadside assistance 24hrs/day for 4 years

- free towing 100Km in case of emergency

- free spray rust proofing

- free car registration

- free license plate frames

 

Yeap....seriously considering these two models.  I need to sh$t or get off the pot deciding on which one especially since the govt subsidiary soon runs out, especially for the MG at the end of September/this month....got until end of November for the Atto 3.  

 

The BYD warranty coverage pretty much 8 yrs/160Km across the board for the car and traction battery is better than the MG car warranty of 4 years/120Km & 8 yrs/160Km for the traction battery.    The MG free 1st class insurance for 3 yrs vs only 1 is definitely a good thing as 1st class insurance ain't cheap.    For the external appearance of both the MG and BYD the wife and I like them both....but when it comes to the interior we undecided on which is best.  The interest of the BYD is definitely bigger probably due to its chassis being designed solely for an EV whereas the MG chassis was originally designed for a combustion engine and adapted for an EV/electric motor.   The MG interior is more classic where the BYD interior is more eccentric but still nice....much of this is a matter of opinion that will vary from individual to individual.

 

Wish the wife and I luck as to "if" we can decide to buy either the MG or BYD....but if we are going to do it we do to do it ASAP if wanting either car at a much lower price due to the soon to go bye-bye govt subsidiary although there is talk the subsidiary may continue in a new form/lower amount in the coming months/for 2024 but I doubt any future subsidiary will be a good as the current one.

 

P.S.  I currently drive a 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L diesel which I will be keeping....a great car that I bought brand new, kept well maintained, and it still runs and looks great with 315,000Km on it's odometer.   But at the same time I want to get an BEV....have one car that totally electric...cheap to drive at least "fuel" wise.

 

 

 

How did the BYD test drive go?

I am impressed by how many km you have put on the Fortuner, the best wine shops must be far from your home.

[VocalNeal]

22 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

and the very old British

Hey, I resemble that remark???? Partially

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Interesting and odd at the same time.

Not sure why the two quotations differ so much. Maybe someone with more insurance experience can enlighten us?

I dont claim to be an expert on the subject , but I know from things I read that ICE vehicles have a  much higher incidence of fire per 100,000. which is to be expected since they carry gaselive, oil, and their basic operation involves explosions and electric sparks. 

The deference between my example and yours is perhaps because the first is a sample of one , and the second is an averaged of many,. The statistical error decreases as the sample number increases. 

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Interesting and odd at the same time.

Not sure why the two quotations differ so much. Maybe someone with more insurance experience can enlighten us?

So I asked a different question.

"does it cost more to insure EVs than it does ICE"

The answer I got was , "EVs cost slightly more to insure because of the higher cost to repair in case of an accident" 

No Mention of fire. 

Below is a list of comparison vehicles is  in the Forbes article in the subject. 

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/electric-vehicle/

 

So then i looked further into the as it pertains to the threat of fire.

" Do electric cars increase homeowners insurance?"

So from Liberty mutual,  one of the largest homeowners insurance companies in the US:

-Owning an electric vehicle or hybrid car doesn't necessarily impact your homeowners, condo, or renters insurance.

https://www.libertymutual.com/insurance-resources/auto/electric-cars-and-insurance

one would think that not only would there be a significantly higher car insurance if electric cars had a high incidence of fire, but the homes where they are stored and changed most of the time would require a higher , homeowners insurance. 

 

 

 

[josephbloggs]

9 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

And from the age of 31 a series of British 6.75 litre V8's which were engineered to be quiet.

Ah, so you spent your thirties wafting....

[impulse]

Personal circumstances have me staying in China, doing monthly visa runs to Thailand.  

 

I don't claim any knowledge of quality (other than exterior fit and finish) but every week it seems I see a new BYD design that knocks my socks off on the aesthetics side.  They have some gorgeous models.  It'll be interesting to see how many are coming to Thailand and what's the lagtime (if any).

 

I don't drive here (because I'm not crazy), but I do take a lot of taxis.  And the BYD interior quality is right up there with the predominating Toyotas.

 

I missed my Chinese city's last big car show because of other priorities (and I'm not in the market for a new car where I refuse to learn to drive).  But there's another show coming up in a week or so and I'm definitely going.  I'm just too interested in the zoomy EV's to miss another, especially BYD.

 

[vinny41]

Insurance quotes in the BYD Thailand facebook group for a 2023 Byd atto 3

range from B21,500-B33,000

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bydthailand

[JBChiangRai]

11 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Ah, so you spent your thirties wafting....

I did, took me another 10 years to my mid-life crisis and 2 seater sports cars

[KhunLA]

3 hours ago, DavisH said:

So who owns an EV here who charges at home and homw much is the electricity bill before having and EV compared to after, and how many kms are driven per week/year? I'd like to see some real data from users. And when does it become more economical to install solar (which one SHOULD do, if they actually care for post car production zero emmissions). 

I do, and charge mostly with solar, and we put on about 20k kms a year.  If all local driving, I've calculated about 55k baht a year saved over the petrol version of the same car, MG ZS, as I owned the ICE version and now have the EV.  So far we've been O&A (out & about) for 7k of the 18k kms so far, and actually O&A now.

 

Have had solar at the house, for over 1 year, new build, installed Aug 2022.  EV coming up on 1 year old (30 Oct).  EV and solar were not really planned together.  Solar for the house yes, the EV was an after thought, and only after MG upgraded the ZS, along with govt incentive (240k baht), so seemed liked a not brainer.   Even though we had just bought the ICE version in 2020, when contracted the house & solar.  Lost a wee bit in selling the 2020 ICE MG, as we usually keep cars for 5-7 yrs / 125k-150k kms.

 

We charge basically all from excess solar, as the system usually provides more than enough for both house & EV, except on the most overcast & rainy days.  Then barely enough for the house so days, but always enough.   so system was sized just about right for us.  With or without the EV.  We're basically off grid, though still conx, JIC, but haven't needed.

EV

Solar

[Pib]

2 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

How did the BYD test drive go?

I am impressed by how many km you have put on the Fortuner, the best wine shops must be far from your home.

The BYD Atto 3 test drive did occur today....the test drive covered the "exact same" road and distance as yesterday's MG ZS EV test drive.  I wanted the drive to be identical to do a best possible comparison.  Two people in the front seats (me the driver and a dealership rep) and one-each wife in the back seat.  Drove about 20km at high and low speeds, smooth and bumpy roads, and even into the carport at my house (wanted so see how well it fit the carport) and make my neighbors think I had already bought a new car both yesterday and today.  (grin)

 

Both the wife and I preferred BYD ride over the MG ride...the BYD ride was smoother and quieter than the MG not to imply the MG ride was rough/noisy as it was pretty good also.  However, one thing I did not like about the MG ride was when going over a bump the rear end bounced too much for my liking....almost felt like how a car can feel that has bad shocks.   The BYD didn't have that rear-end bounce....just smooth.  On a scale for 1 to 10 I would rate the BYD smoothness of ride as a 8 and the MG a 6 or 7....definitely a 7 if it wasn't for the rear end bounce on bumps.   The BYD ride was little quieter than the MG...but not by much.  

 

And the BYD is more spacious inside since its chassis was specifically designed for an EV from the get-go whereas the MG was originally designed for an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle and retrofitted to also use a EV engine.....this restricts the MG from using reallocating some excess front end engine space to the interior space which gives the interior more front and back seat leg room.  Also, the MG center console kinda restricts a person's left leg movement whereas the BYD does not....all due to center console shape/size/design.

 

I could go on about the other differences between the MG and BYD which I researched for the last few months (lord knows I watched dozens upon dozens of MG ZS EV and BYD Atto 3 Youtube videos), sat in both cars for a couple of hours tinkering with the controls/infotainment center, asking questions of the salesman, and doing a test drive in each.   

 

And by the way, the Infotainment center (i.e., center main control screen, control settings, cameras, etc.,) of the BYD are significantly better than the MG.  The BYD software/screen controls are just more responsive/faster than the MG....maybe a rough analogy would be like comparing this year's latest model smartphone with a faster CPU/more memory to a smartphone model from a couple years ago with a slower CPU/less memory.  BYD cameras are "definitely" better/clearer display than the MG. 

 

And using voice commands to tell the BYD to do things like open the sunroof, open a side window, lower the A/C temperature worked like a charm (in English)......now I did not test voice commands in the MG but numerous Youtube reviews gave it low marks for models sold in Thailand as the voice commands are geared to the Thai language. 

 

The air con in the MG is stronger/cooler than the BYD....the BYD A/C is OK...it's just the MG was better/cooler.  

 

In terms of horsepower/torque the BYD has a higher rating and Youtube videos showed the BYD was faster in 0-60 and 0-100kmh tests....but only by a little.  The MG full acceleration is "immediate" where the BYD full accelerations seem to have about a half second lag but as mentioned supposedly the BYD will reach 60 or 100kmh a little quicker than the MG.    Maybe kinda like a quarter mile drag race where one car takes the lead off the starting line but the other car overtakes and passes the finish line first.  But both the MG and BYD definitely have more than enough get-up-and-go!  The electric engine(s) in an EV definitely push you back in your seat under full acceleration....pretty impressive....and of course quiet.

 

Both the wife and I preferred the interior "fabric/seat covers" of the MG but the BYD is fine.  And of course the BYD interior is more eccentric than the more classic interior design of the MG. 

 

Warranty-wise the BYD beats the MG as described in my earlier post.   Same 8 yr/160,000 Km warranty of the traction battery on both vehicles but the BYD also has a 8 yr/160,000 Km basic vehicle warranty whereas the MG is 4 yrs/120,000 Km.  Yeap, BYD warranty coverage is a clear winner over the MG warranty....a warranty I hope I never have to use for anything serious....time will tell.

 

I could go on-and-on about the differences....things I considered pros and cons on each vehicle which other people might disagree with since peoples' like/dislikes/tastes can vary greatly.  

 

As mentioned I'll be keeping my 2009 Fortuner 3.0L Diesel which will be 15 years old next month and has approx 315,000 Km under its odometer which works out to approx 21,000 Km drove yearly....it still runs and looks great as I'm maintained it well.  The wife and I take the car out almost everyday of the year (probably 355 days out of 365) doing local shopping/stuff here in Bangkok,  a weekly run of approx 120Km roundtrip to visit the mother in law, etc., ...it's very easy to rack-up 21K per year in just doing daily, routine trips.    

 

If the creek don't rise, the moon don't fall on the Earth, I just don't wake up tomorrow, the wife and I are about 99% sure right now we will go put a Bt10K deposit on a Atto 3 with projected delivery approx 10 days later according to the dealership....remaining payment due on delivery/pickup date.   We could have made the deposit today, but with me-being-me I just want to sleep on it to ensure I don't have some nightmare saying "don't buy that car!!!!!"  ????