Thai EV businesses to secure THB227 bn investments
Thailand will soon see investments exceeding 227 billion baht in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, pushing the country closer to its goal of becoming ASEAN’s EV hub and ranking in the top 10 globally.
The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) recently reported that so far it had approved investment promotional privileges for EV-related businesses with a combined investment value of 77.26 billion baht.
The investments are for manufacturing electric cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, batteries, as well as charging stations, BOI secretary-general Narit Terdsathirasak said.
“Thanks to the government’s continued support for the EV industry, we expect to see more companies applying for promotional privileges this year,” he added.
The BOI had earlier reported that four Japanese automakers, namely Toyota, Honda, Isuzu and Mitsubishi, had announced their intention to invest around 150 billion baht in the next four years for EV manufacturing in Thailand. This means Thailand’s EV industry will receive over 227 billion baht of investment from both Thai and foreign investors.
Narit said that EV promotion was a central policy of current and past governments as it contributed to two of the country’s main goals: reducing emissions in the transportation sector to lead Thailand towards carbon neutrality by 2050, and establishing a foundation for a new industry, expanding on the existing automotive industry that had been driving Thailand’s economy for the past 50 years.
To achieve the goal of becoming ASEAN’s No. 1 EV hub and ranking in the top 10 globally, the National Electric Vehicle Policy Board (EV Board) has set a 30@30 target, or producing 30% of EVs within the country by 2030, or approximately 725,000 units per year.
Meanwhile, the government on December 19 last year approved an extension of the EV promotion campaign, also known as EV 3.5 package, to continue supporting both EV manufacturing and adoption until 2027.
Under the EV 3.5 measures, the government will provide subsidies of approximately 100,000 baht per vehicle for imported EVs and require car manufacturers to establish EV manufacturing plants in Thailand at a ratio of 2-3 times the number of imports.
Narit said the BOI is also working on other campaigns to further support the EV industry, including studying suitable electricity rates for operators of EV charging stations and proposing to the EV Board, as well as expanding promotional privileges to EV-related businesses, such as battery-swapping stations.
