Gov't to Promote Electric Vehicle Manufacturing in Thailand With Investment Incentives

The Thai government is offering privileges and tax measures in support of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in a bid to promote EV manufacturing in the country.

According to Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister and Acting Government Spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri in a press release on Sept. 1, the National Electric Vehicle Committee, also known as the EV board, created the 30@30 plan to target 30% zero emission vehicles (ZEV) of total automotive production by 2030.

This is in concordance with the country's goal to become a low-carbon society and global EV hub.

As per the Office of the Board of Investment (BOI) via the release, 26 EV investment projects from 17 firms have been greenlit for investment promotion from 2017 to Aug. 17, 2022. The total investment value is THB80.2 million, not including the cost of land and revolving fund.

The production capacity of the 26 projects is 838,755 units, 440,995 of which would be hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), with an investment value of THB38.6 million. A total of 137,600 units will be plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) with an investment value of THB11.6 million, whereas 4,000 more units will be electric buses (THB2.1 million).

Absolute Assembly, BMW, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota are just some of the car companies that have started their production line for commercial purposes.

Investment incentives for key EV parts have also been expanded by the government, with the BOI approving additional tax incentives for the domestic production of battery management systems, drive control units, traction motors, and more.

Burapachaisri said that the government is committed to implementing promotion measures to reach its target of 1.5 million EVs by 2026.