Thai govt determined 'cautiously' to push electric vehicle industry

[webfact]

Govt determined 'cautiously' to push electric vehicle industry
By   PICHAYA CHANGSORN 
The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- A SENIOR BOARD of Investment official yesterday reaffirmed the government’s intention to develop an electric-vehicle (EV) industry in Thailand, though Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday asked involved authorities to move forward cautiously to protect the existing automobile industry.

 

BOI deputy secretary-general Ajarin Pattanapanchai told a seminar that it was a government mandate that the EV industry be developed, although most automakers oppose the plan as they fear that EVs would destroy the existing industry.

Ajarin said Prayut raised the issue at Monday’s BOI directors’ meeting, which he chaired, saying the carmakers’ concerns should be considered. But she said that it was likely that EV production would be minimal during the initial stage and would not affect the established industry.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/macroeconomics/30298892

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-11-02

[JAG]

Reminds me of the old joke about getting an electric shock off the heated rear window of your Skoda when you're trying to start it in the morning.....

[yellowboat]

"EVs would destroy the existing industry."  Nimble minds keeping Thailand at the forefront.  When EV's are cost effective, they will replace internal combustion driven vehicles.  China is doing it, so chances are it will happen sooner or later. 

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Govt determined 'cautiously' to push electric vehicle industry

They shouldn't have to push the car, it's supposed to drive under it's own power.

[waldroj]

"...it was a government mandate that the EV industry be developed, although most automakers oppose the plan as they fear that EVs would destroy the existing industry..."

 

There is no question that Prayut and his cronies are determined to shape the future of Thailand in every way! But, the real question that must be asked is in what shape will Thailand be in the future?

 

Current predictions (in first plot), and monthly actuals over the last two years (in second plot) for the world's 12th-largest auto industry, although subdued for Local Sales, don't look to bad as they stand for Export Sales (of conventional vehicles and pickups) into the future, but that's not to say things can change (especially if cautionary advice from automakers is ignored).

 

Perhaps, Paryut can use his charm to persuade automakers to develop some EV vehicles for Domestic consumption (and offer incentives to encourage Thais to buy these) while leaving the Export Market free to determine the types of vehicles it wants?

 

  

[Beats56]

Fossil fuel autos will be eventual be replaced by EV autos. The auto industry is scared. They need to see the writing on the wall and develop EV autos or they will be left behind. Tesla is doing some great things with EV autos and solar shingles for houses. 

[Enoon]

5 hours ago, yellowboat said:

"EVs would destroy the existing industry."  Nimble minds keeping Thailand at the forefront.  When EV's are cost effective, they will replace internal combustion driven vehicles.  China is doing it, so chances are it will happen sooner or later. 

 

Thailand at the forefront of looking backwards.

 

As usual.

 

[impulse]

3 hours ago, Beats56 said:

Fossil fuel autos will be eventual be replaced by EV autos. The auto industry is scared. They need to see the writing on the wall and develop EV autos or they will be left behind. Tesla is doing some great things with EV autos and solar shingles for houses. 

 

For the vast majority of what an average car is called on to do, possibly.  But charging is problematic when so many people live on upper apartment floors.  It's tough to displace an infrastructure like gas stations that have $$ trillions invested over 100 years.

 

I can see some fortunes being made when someone figures out how to solve that problem.  Perhaps parking structures with chargers where you can double dip 'em.  Charge for parking and the electricity and make as much of the electricity as possible with solar.  Of course, the first few iterations will probably go the way of the 1 Hour Photo kiosks when subsequent technologies make them obsolete.

[elgordo38]

If they produce electric cars for export thats fine but for internal use well that requires a lot of PLANNING and infrastructure laid down and that cost money and this is the point where the idea dwindles off into "Lets shelve it for now" 

[MolesterStallone]

So behind as usual. Thailand needs to.get working on hydrogen. EV has already proven it doesn't work on a mass scale. Big manufacturers already deep into hydrogen EV just an interim phase. by the time Thailand gets it head around it we.will be  driving in hydrogen vehicles. 

[BuaBS]

Can you imagine the price in Thailand of a Tesla ... with all the import taxes ?

Not that I would ever buy one.

The Thai would probably charge their electric car at home with their own diesel generator .

[PeeJay1959]

2 hours ago, BuaBS said:

Can you imagine the price in Thailand of a Tesla ... with all the import taxes ?

Not that I would ever buy one.

The Thai would probably charge their electric car at home with their own diesel generator .

[HerbalEd]

Re. "

most automakers oppose the plan as they fear that EVs would destroy the existing industry"

 

Yes, please. Destroy it asap.

[HerbalEd]

9 hours ago, MolesterStallone said:

So behind as usual. Thailand needs to.get working on hydrogen. EV has already proven it doesn't work on a mass scale. Big manufacturers already deep into hydrogen EV just an interim phase. by the time Thailand gets it head around it we.will be  driving in hydrogen vehicles. 

How can it "prove" it if it hasn't yet been done on a mass scale? And hydrogen cars haven't even done it on a very small scale.

[fruitman]

15 hours ago, yellowboat said:

"EVs would destroy the existing industry."  Nimble minds keeping Thailand at the forefront.  When EV's are cost effective, they will replace internal combustion driven vehicles.  China is doing it, so chances are it will happen sooner or later. 

 

Volkswagon just invested in huge factories for EV in China...of course they passed Thailand with a mindset like this....

 

Without farang/Japanese helping them it will be a failure anyway. 

[fruitman]

And the Thai have never heard of exporting EV to the world?? Of course not.

 

Right now i'm building my own mini-EV which is a computercontrolled robot. It will drive itself through the moobaan for shopping but can do lawnmowing, floorsweeping and best of all it can attack soidogs automatic with a watercanon!

 

It has a camera which recognises faces and listens to handsignals from known persons. It can also recognise animals and attack them with. If you say "follow me" it will follow you untill you tell it to stop, great for shopping.

 

But even buying some simple M6 hexagon bolts in certain size is a big pain in the butt in BKK. Took me all day to buy some parts today and of course i heard mai mee all the time.

 

Anyway, it will be running soon and can go get foor for me from the restaurant totally automatic, i only have to say "go to the restaurant" and it will go and come back. On my tv i can see the view from it's camera's.

 

Something like this is unheard of for Thai and of course should be banned..bad fallang go home...(where they would pay a fortune for something similar but don't tell them). I can also make it clean up snow automatic.

Edited November 2, 2016 by fruitman

[Xircal]

We have electric taxis in the Netherlands and several privately owned vehicles are electric too. The Dutch government has invested heavily in the industry and there are a large number of charging stations in the country.

 

Thailand could do the same, but the charging stations have to be in place first I think. No point in having an EV car if you can't recharge the batteries after travelling long distances.

[fruitman]

Funny story:

 

The German post asked many carcompanies to develop 5000 electric deliveryvans for them but none was interested in such low quantity.

 

Then they studied a bit and started building their own EV's. Just order parts from the same suppliers as the big carcompanies do and try it out. That worked so well that soon they had their 5000 electric vans and also many orders from other companies to build vans for them.

 

Now they started their own EV company and the whole carindustry is angry they passed them. 

 

Thailand is also very dumb to ignore the new trend in EV's. It would be the excellent chance to get rid of farming and develop to become a higher salary country with educated personell. 

It ain't hard to order theparts needed, plenty of suppliers in China (their big friend).

 

In some cities in China there are ONLY eletric motocycles, would be great if BKK also had that.  No noise at all from them and also no dirty fumes between the skyscrapers where there's no wind.

 

So Thailand will miss this train again because they have a lack of vision and are too busy with their farmers who even can't produce rice to make profit on the worldmarket.