Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

[Dannie Boy]

I like to change my cars every 5 years, so I hope to have at least two more cars in me before I hang up my driving boots. As I’ve mentioned before, I drive an MGHS PHEV and the electric side of it for me is great, performance is more than adequate and the range for most of my journeys is sufficient (although greater range would be better). Here in Thailand there’s a very limited EV charging infrastructure so that will be the stumbling block until they do something about it, although with a wall box, most EV cars will charge overnight at home.

[STEVE G]

Although on a much smaller scale than China, Norway leads the world with the highest %age of new car sales.

https://thedriven.io/2022/02/03/norways ... -electric/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Impressive figures, but also biased with a huge drop in "Passenger Car Sales" in January. Had a look at the top EV seller - the Audi Q4 e-tron. Nice looking motor, but as always with EVs, out of my price range! I wonder what the 2nd Hand EV market will look like in years to come - what's the effect of battery life, would it be worth looking at 2nd Hand, will costs come down to make EV's readily available to all?

As someone who knows very little about the subject, it seems that it's all about batteries. If you could purchase a used EV and put a new battery in it, that would be the way to go.

My brother works for a company that sells second hand cars on a large commercial basis, mainly ex-fleet and lease cars and he tells me that a large number of electric cars will come onto the market within the next couple of years due to the strong company sales at the moment.
Most companies only keep cars for two years and with many batteries being warrantied for eight, they should still be a good buy.

[KhunLA]

Easily over 1000 charging stations now: https://www.plugshare.com/

[hhinner]

Although on a much smaller scale than China, Norway leads the world with the highest %age of new car sales.

https://thedriven.io/2022/02/03/norways ... -electric/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Impressive figures, but also biased with a huge drop in "Passenger Car Sales" in January. Had a look at the top EV seller - the Audi Q4 e-tron. Nice looking motor, but as always with EVs, out of my price range! I wonder what the 2nd Hand EV market will look like in years to come - what's the effect of battery life, would it be worth looking at 2nd Hand, will costs come down to make EV's readily available to all?

As someone who knows very little about the subject, it seems that it's all about batteries. If you could purchase a used EV and put a new battery in it, that would be the way to go.

As long as it's not a Chevy Spark EV https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... ar-AAWxdHk

[pharvey]

I think I'll pass. There are some on here, Steve G. and Pharvey as a quick example, where an electric car may make sense. Those of us over 70 I really don't think it does, especially here in Thailand. The older we get, the less we drive and the less receptive we are to change. How often do we buy a new car, or will buy another new car? I think I'll go to the big junk yard in the sky belching diesel and the like.

TBH Pete, no - they don't make sense to me (at the moment). Cracking performance, but overpriced and can't do the distance most need - not to mention the infrastructure not being available (certainly in the UK). I love my cars and am a "Petrol Head" through and through - might just have to go for a "Classic" where exempt from UK taxes!!

For the LHG's car, we went for a smaller engine (1.4 Petrol), but these days the engines are far more advanced, providing more power (BHP) and far better economy - more importantly, fewer emissions.

[STEVE G]

I just want one for local driving around Hua Hin, which is probably 90% of our transport needs. I'm going to put solar panels on the car port and drive on sunshine!
As I've mentioned before, we have several vehicles and plenty of parking so it makes sense to have one optimised as a local runabout.

[handdrummer]

Impressive figures, but also biased with a huge drop in "Passenger Car Sales" in January. Had a look at the top EV seller - the Audi Q4 e-tron. Nice looking motor, but as always with EVs, out of my price range! I wonder what the 2nd Hand EV market will look like in years to come - what's the effect of battery life, would it be worth looking at 2nd Hand, will costs come down to make EV's readily available to all?

As someone who knows very little about the subject, it seems that it's all about batteries. If you could purchase a used EV and put a new battery in it, that would be the way to go.

As long as it's not a Chevy Spark EV https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... ar-AAWxdHk

Having owned many, through the years, I would never buy another American car. But, at 83, it's a moot point.

[Nereus]

Toyota signs agreement for EV incentives

https://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/news/2 ... incentives

Toyota Motor Thailand on Friday signed an agreement to receive tax incentives and a subsidy for its battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from the Excise Department as part of a government push to make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable.

The agreement was signed at the department and secures tax incentives and a subsidy for Toyota's bZ4X vehicles.

Lavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the Excise Department, said such agreements had already been established with Great Wall Motor Manufacturing (Thailand) Co and MG Sales (Thailand) Co.

The past agreements led to orders for over 5,000 vehicles.

Excise tax for BEVs has been reduced from 8% to 2% until 2026, with subsidies of 70,000-150,000 baht per car available to buyers.

Further supportive measures include the BEV import duty being adjusted to not over 40% from an initial 80% in the case of imports outside free trade agreements. The rate has cut the import duty of BEVs from Japan to 20%, South Korea to 40% and Europe to 40%.

BEVs imported from China enjoy 0% duty under a bilateral agreement.

State subsidies and tax incentives are expected to reduce BEV prices by at least 150,000-200,000 baht per car.

Car makers accessing state support must comply with conditions, including that they produce one BEV in Thailand per every one BEV they import. The 1:1 ratio of import-production must start in the third year after the agreement is signed and then increase to 1:1.5 in the fourth year.

[handdrummer]

Toyota signs agreement for EV incentives

https://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/news/2 ... incentives

Toyota Motor Thailand on Friday signed an agreement to receive tax incentives and a subsidy for its battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from the Excise Department as part of a government push to make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable.

The agreement was signed at the department and secures tax incentives and a subsidy for Toyota's bZ4X vehicles.

Lavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the Excise Department, said such agreements had already been established with Great Wall Motor Manufacturing (Thailand) Co and MG Sales (Thailand) Co.

The past agreements led to orders for over 5,000 vehicles.

Excise tax for BEVs has been reduced from 8% to 2% until 2026, with subsidies of 70,000-150,000 baht per car available to buyers.

Further supportive measures include the BEV import duty being adjusted to not over 40% from an initial 80% in the case of imports outside free trade agreements. The rate has cut the import duty of BEVs from Japan to 20%, South Korea to 40% and Europe to 40%.

BEVs imported from China enjoy 0% duty under a bilateral agreement.

State subsidies and tax incentives are expected to reduce BEV prices by at least 150,000-200,000 baht per car.

Car makers accessing state support must comply with conditions, including that they produce one BEV in Thailand per every one BEV they import. The 1:1 ratio of import-production must start in the third year after the agreement is signed and then increase to 1:1.5 in the fourth year.

Will I be able to buy 1/2 of a vehicle?

[PeteC]

Looking at the specs, it has a range of 44 miles and top speed of 28MPH, and costs USD 10,000. I think I can buy a new golf cart for less than half that with close to the same range and speed. Things are starting to get a bit stupid IMO.

Mini EVs sell out in 18 minutes

https://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/news/2 ... 18-minutes

PARIS: A limited edition of 50 Citroen mini electric cars sold out in less than 18 minutes, parent company Stellantis NV said, prompting the French brand to post a cheeky message to electric car pioneer Elon Musk.

"Sorry Elon, the only way to get one is to buy us," Citroen wrote on a billboard at Paris' Gare de L'Est train station, referring to the Tesla CEO's appetite for deals, which has recently included a US$44 billion bid for Twitter Inc.

Since the Ami's launch in April 2020, Citroen has sold 22,000 of the small electric model in Morocco, Europe and the Republic of Turkiye. The car is produced in Morocco and does not require a driving licence. It is only sold online.

For the limited edition "My Ami Buggy" version, the roof is replaced with canvas that can be rolled back and metal tube gates replace the doors. It is sold from €9,790 ($10,361).

"The fastest customer managed to complete the whole purchasing journey and get his 'My Ami Buggy' in only two minutes and 53 seconds," Citroen said in a statement. reuters

[Dannie Boy]

It obviously isn’t going to appeal to mass audiences but as a very compact means of short distance transport, it has a lot more appeal than a golf buggy - IMO!!

[PeteC]

A golf buggy gives you that SUV look.

[handdrummer]

There's a MotorTrend review with photos. Hard to tell the front from the back.
Good vehicle for Euro cities, with their clogged narrow streets. In Bangkok, you'd get run over by the motorbikers.

[STEVE G]

Looking at the specs, it has a range of 44 miles and top speed of 28MPH, and costs USD 10,000. I think I can buy a new golf cart for less than half that with close to the same range and speed. Things are starting to get a bit stupid IMO.....

At the other end of the scale, how about a 2000hp electric Ford Transit van?
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a4039 ... -supervan/

[Dannie Boy]

Looking at the specs, it has a range of 44 miles and top speed of 28MPH, and costs USD 10,000. I think I can buy a new golf cart for less than half that with close to the same range and speed. Things are starting to get a bit stupid IMO.....

At the other end of the scale, how about a 2000hp electric Ford Transit van?
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a4039 ... -supervan/

Now that is stupid, ok it proves a point about what can be achieved, but it’s not at all practical. Whilst the Citroen Ami will only appeal to a relatively small audience, the fact that it’s allocation sold out in less than 30 minutes suggests that it’s not completely bonkers!!