To address worsening air pollution, Thailand has set a target for electric vehicles (EVs) to account for 30% of car production by the end of the decade. The 30% target will include cars, motorbikes, and buses. Some of the measures to stimulate the domestic market and achieve the 2030 goal include tax benefits, parking discounts, and developing charging infrastructure across the country.
Thailand’s Board of Investment has already granted EV privileges to Nissan, Toyota Motor Corp, Mercedes-Benz AG, BMW AG, and Mine Mobility, among others. Under the current excise tax structure, EVs are tax-exempt from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022, with the rates levied at 2% after 2022. Additionally, there will be a three-year tax holiday for manufacturers of plug-in hybrid vehicles and an eight-year corporate income tax waiver for battery electric vehicle makers.
London-based IHS Markit forecasts that the annual production of EVs in Thailand will increase from 35,039 units in 2019 to 570,500 units in 2025 and 934,200 units in 2030. Thailand currently is already a car-production hub in the South East Asian region.
Thai consumers are also leaders for electrified mobility demand, interest and awareness, according to a survey conducted in 2020 by Frost & Sullivan, a leading market research and strategy firm. It is notable that 43% of the surveyed Thai non-EV owners stated that they would consider an electrified vehicle as their next car purchase within the next three years.
(Sources: The Business Times; Bangkok Post; Financial Post; IHS Markit; Nissan; Frost & Sullivan)