Electric Vehicle Association proposes new government to promote exports

The Electric Vehicle Association proposes that the new government support the domestic parts industry, push Thailand to become an export hub, accept the sharp price reduction, and roaming including electric charging apps, and accelerate the knowledge of electric vehicle repair shops. Mr. Suroj Saengsanit, the new president of the Thai Electric Vehicle Association, said that due to the economic slowdown and high household debt, financiers have refused to lend, so it is expected that there will be only 80,000 electric vehicle sales from the target of 100,000 in 2024. Therefore, it is proposed that the new government urgently resolve the household debt problem in order to increase purchasing power for the people. Several measures will be introduced to attract foreign investment in order to set up production bases in the country and export right-hand drive electric vehicles abroad to replace domestic purchasing power, which is still shrinking, so that Thailand can become an electric vehicle production and expor t base like it used to be the number 1 exporter of pickup trucks abroad. Admittedly, the electric car market is very competitive. Some manufacturers have reduced prices by 240,000-250,000 baht per car, which has an impact on people's decision to buy electric cars. I would like to suggest that electric cars are like mobile devices, and the prices will not be reduced much because there are still production costs. In the case of stating that there are too many Chinese cars in stock, so they are being reduced in price in Thailand, we have to see if they are left-hand drive or right-hand drive. I would like the government to determine that domestic parts are mainly used in the production of electric cars. Measures should be issued to attract investment from large global car manufacturers to set up production bases in the country. Mr. Uten Supattu, Vice President of the Thai Electric Vehicle Association, Academic and Personnel Development Division, said that since electric vehicles are becoming popular, following the trend of energy saving and environmental conservation, the government and related agencies must train and provide knowledge to general garages to support the increasing use of electric vehicles in the future. Because when using a car for a long time, beyond the warranty period from the car manufacturer, people will run to find a garage to repair their car. Accepting the electric car repair system, there is a code, a control box, and redundancy. Therefore, the repair is different from a car with a gas engine. Therefore, knowledge must be distributed more widely. Mr. Chaturong Suriyasasin, Vice President of the Thai Electric Vehicle Association, Infrastructure Development Division, said that when the use of electric vehicles increases, the government must attract entrepreneurs to set up charging stations more conveniently. The association is trying to roam and collect electric vehicle charging service apps from many companies to be combined into a single app so that all car brands can use the same service and control the service fee to be more standardized. Currently, electric charging stations charge different fees according to the cost. In addition, the 3 electricity authorities, MEA, EGAT, and PEA, have discussed and found a way to handle the electricity charging crisis at night. If people charge electricity at night in large numbers because the price is only 2.6 baht per unit, they must find a way to prevent power outages at night. Source: Thai News Agency