BYD’s sales rep in Thailand launches carbon credit initiative for EV users

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Rever Automotive CEO Pratarnwong Phronprapha said the move was part of its efforts to encourage Thais to widely adopt EV cars while also completing the ecosystem of these green and clean vehicles.

He said this initiative would help raise awareness of the carbon credit mechanism and its benefits among Thai consumers.

He pointed out that the more the advantages and benefits Thais discover from using EVs, the greater the adoption, which would eventually help increase EV sales as well as the overall growth outlook of the EV industry.

Pratarnwong explained that the carbon credit project was part of the company's new campaign, “ReverLution", which aimed to establish and sustain Thailand as a leading low-carbon society.

Pratarnporn Phornprapha, the vice CEO of Rever Automotive, noted that as each country around the world had announced its obvious commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions in a period of time in the future, no carbon emission and carbon credit offset mechanism would be a compliance that all must follow.

According to the Kyoto Protocol, which developed an emission trading system in the form of "Carbon Credits”, the credits are based on the "Cap-and-Trade" system and aim to reduce overall petrol emissions. It provides an incentive for any company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and earn additional revenue by selling surplus credits.

Carbon markets are classified into three types: (i) mandatory and voluntary, (ii) allocation and offset, and (iii) international and regional markets.

Currently, Thailand's carbon credit market has been classified into voluntary, offset, and regional markets. Businesses control GHG emissions voluntarily, and the government has not imposed quotas on carbon emissions. Furthermore, carbon credit trading is only available in Thailand through the Thailand Voluntary Emission Reduction Programme.

Until now, the majority of carbon credit programmes have been limited to business-to-business transactions. Therefore, the Rever Automotive carbon credit could be the world's first programme that allows end users to claim carbon credit for their EV usage.

Pratarnporn said that BYD EV owners must click the consent button in the application to allow the company to track their mileage. The mileage will be converted into carbon credits, which customers can exchange for other benefits, such as using the credit to pay for charging fees at its own charging station network and those of its partners nationwide.

She said that more benefit options would be revealed soon, while promising that all the products and services participating in its carbon credit programme would be ones that customers use on a daily basis.

She said that Rever Automotive had already established a team to calculate mileage for carbon credits, under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard, the global international standard for carbon credits.

BYD users can be confident that all of their mileage would be converted to carbon credits at a fair and competitive market price, she assured.

At present, around 30% of BYD users have given their consent to the company, she said, adding that Rever had begun tracking their mileage. The first batch of carbon credit trading will take place early next year.

"I hope that after the first batch, more BYD users would recognise the value of this programme. For the time being, we are attempting to educate them as much as possible," she explained.

Meanwhile, Rever Automotive used the occasion to announce a joint venture with Sharge Management, Thailand's charging infrastructure provider, to expand EV charging stations across the country.

According to Peerapatr Siricantaropart, managing director of Sharger Management, this collaboration would rebrand the company as Reverscharger and add an additional 1,100 charging stations by the end of 2023.

He expected the move to contribute to the completion of Thailand's EV ecosystem.

He said that Sharger would provide charging infrastructure to meet all market demand, referring to three types of charging facilities: night, day, and on the go, which means charging at home at night, at the office or department store during the day, and at the station while travelling.

Ke Yubin, general manage of BYD Thailand, welcomed the carbon credits programme and the joint venture with Sharger Management, saying the move would strengthen the growth of the EV market and increase EV adoption by Thais.

He also revealed that the BYD EV cab plant in Thailand, would be ready to produce EV cars in June with a capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year.

Pratarnwong said the company's Reverscharger has begun working with the country's leading real estate developers, as well as Bangchak and Susco, the country's leading petroleum and energy conglomerates, to ensure charging infrastructure readiness nationwide.