Deciphering the success of EV Thailand, clear policy – flexible – keeping pace with the world

Measures to boost the Thai electric vehicle industry that could stimulate the country's electric vehicle (EV) market to grow significantly, including the industry and related supply chains have become heavily invested, as evidenced by the rising number of EV registrations. 76 thousand cars in 2023, an increase of 6.5 times over 2023

This has led to a significant amount of investment in the electric vehicle industry in Thailand, and as of the end of 2023, the Board of Investment (BOI) has promoted the electric vehicle industry. 103 projects with a total investment of 77,192 million baht, divided into

• Electric car 18 The project is 40,004 million baht
• 9 EV motorcycle projects worth 848 million baht
• Electric buses and trucks, 3 projects, 2,200 million baht
• Electric Vehicle Batteries and Energy Storage Systems (ESS) 39 projects 23,904 million baht
• Important parts 20 The project cost 6,031 million baht
• Electric charging stations: 14 projects worth 4.205 million baht

The success of Thailand's electric vehicle promotion policy has made Thailand a focal point for electric vehicle manufacturers around the world. Including industry and many related supply chains are successes of the policy drive, and lessons should be drawn from the success of this policy drive. To lead to other policies that bring benefits to the country's economy in the future.

Establish policies on the listening database for each sector

Narit Terdsathisak Secretary General of the Board of Investment Member and Secretary of the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee (EV Board) He said Thailand's electric vehicle policy is a data-driven policy. Global demand trends Changes in technology are taken into account. The opinions of entrepreneurs in the private sector, at the local and international levels, were heard in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, the electric car policy in Thailand has changed. Flexible enough to accommodate future market conditions and technological changes

“We now have EV 3.0 and EV 3.5 policies. There may be more changes. As for the question of EV4.0 policy there is not one today, but there may be in the future. Including hydrogen fuel which is being used more. We are monitoring whether It will be developed commercially or not.As for technology, today we have measures covering cell-level technology that support investment in battery factories in order to bring leading-edge technology to investment in Thailand.

Thailand's EV measures cover all aspects.

If compared to other countries, Thailand's electric vehicle subsidy policy is progressive because it is a comprehensive measure in every aspect. In addition to the measures for manufacturers, there are also measures given to users, such as measures related to charging infrastructure. There is also a special electricity price granted by the Ministry of Energy to public charging stations, which have several measures that complement each other, which makes them clearly and tangible successful.

Thailand's electric vehicle promotion measures continue to move forward after the promotion of passenger cars has achieved great success, and recently, continuous measures have emerged. To support large vehicles, including electric buses (E-Bus) and electric trucks (E-Truck), the latest meeting of the National Electric Vehicle Council on February 21 approved measures to support the use of electric vehicles. This measure will allow companies or legal partnerships to deduct expenses in calculating corporate income tax for the purchase of electric buses and electric trucks. Use without setting a high price ceiling. In the case of purchasing a vehicle produced/assembled within the country, the expenses can be deducted twice, and in the case of importing finished cars from abroad. Expenses can be deducted 1.5 times, and this procedure will be in effect according to the royal decree that will be issued by the Ministry of Finance until the end of 2025.

The meeting mandated the Ministry of Finance, through the Department of Revenue, to study and determine guidelines and move forward with the next steps, with the expectation that both types of vehicles will be electric vehicles. The number of vehicles in this project is about 10,000 vehicles, divided into about 6,000 buses and about 4,000 trucks.

Supporting the production of electric car batteries at the cellular level

In addition, for Thailand to become a major player in the electric vehicle industry in the region or the world, there are measures to encourage investment in battery production at the cell level in order toElectric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS) to attract battery manufacturers at the cell level is productionThe source that uses high technology to invest in the country through “battery” It is considered the heart of the electric car industry.

Currently, there are many domestic manufacturers of batteries at the unit and package levels. But we are still missing an important part upstream, which is battery production at the cellular level. It is the process used for castingAdvanced technology and high investment Issuing promotional measures this time to attract the world's leading companies to produce in Thailand This will not only help realize the supply chain of V-Thai industry. But it also helps other industries that use energy storage systems (ESS) which is in line with the global trend that aims to create hygiene in business operations.

Determine 4 conditions to support investment in battery factories

Investors will be able to request benefits and financial support from the fund to increase the country's competitiveness. Under the terms of the Board of Investment there are basic conditions for investors. The 4 points are

1. It should be a leading company in producing batteries used by electric vehicle manufacturers.
2. There must be a plan to produce battery cells for electric cars. They can also produce battery cells for energy storage systems (ESS).
3. Battery cells must be produced with a specific energy value of at least 150 Wh/kg
4. There must be a life cycle of at least 1000. The deadline for submitting investment project proposals is during the year 2027.

It aims to attract world-class battery cell manufacturers

This supports investment in battery factories at the cell level. The Board of Investment and the National Competitiveness Policy Committee will consider determining the details of the standards and guidelines next. When providing investment support, negotiations will be conducted on a company-by-company basis. Depending on the technology the amount of production capacity that will be invested in Thailand including customers who use the batteries of this operator. Thailand wants to bring world-leading entrepreneurs through cellular level investment to Thailand.

Support up to 50% of the investment value

Currently, there are leading companies that have this technology. There are companies from China, Japan and South Korea, and Chinese companies include Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Gotion, SVOLT ENERGY TECHNOLOGY, or SVOLT, BYD Company, and China Aviation Lithium Battery Co. (CALB), Sanvoda Electric, and Hikle Battery Co. Co., Ltd., EVE Corporation, Japanese companies include Panasonic, and South Korean companies include Samsung, LG, and SK Battery. Thailand expects to have leading companies with advanced technology investing in Thailand. The highest benefit that can be provided through the Competitiveness Enhancement Fund is to support the construction of a battery factory at a rate of 30-50% of the investment value.

Adjust EV3.5 metrics to be more comprehensive.

The National Council for Electric Vehicles It was also agreed to improve measures to support the use of electric cars, phase two, or electric vehicles.3.5 For example, expanding the scope of eligible electric cars to cover passenger cars that seat no more than 10 people andIncreased advantages of electric motorcycles in the case where the battery size is less than 3 kWh but the operating distance is more than 75Kilometers per charging cycle including safety standards Can I join the EV3.5 measures to answer?More problems for entrepreneursalso