BANGKOK: Thailand is reviewing a 24 billion baht (US$709 million) plan to help replace up to 80,000 ageing transport vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) and is evaluating whether it should be extended to cover all EV purchases as part of its energy-transition efforts.
The replacement of tens of thousands of standard vehicles with EVs would help boost Thailand’s struggling auto industry.
Thailand is South-east Asia’s largest automotive production hub, but domestic vehicle sales slumped to a 15-year low in 2024, as high household debt and tighter lending standards curbed demand, particularly for pickup trucks, a key sector of the market.
An initial proposal, presented to a government committee in June, targeted the replacement of commercial transport vehicles, including taxis, motorcycle taxis, tuk-tuks, buses and trucks, with electric equivalents, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters in a phone interview last week.
“We are reconsidering whether the assistance should be extended to all vehicle categories, not just those for transportation,” Siripong said.
Discussions over extending the programme have gathered pace since Thailand’s Constitutional Court in July ruled that the government’s 400 billion baht emergency borrowing plan was lawful, clearing the way for further spending. The Cabinet approved the borrowing plan in May, but opposition lawmakers challenged it about two weeks later.
The Transport Ministry made the proposal to a committee chaired by the Finance Ministry, and support for EV purchases could take various forms, such as subsidies, low-interest loans and tax incentives for targeted vehicles scheduled for replacement under stipulated age limits, Siripong said.
The committee is charged under the borrowing plan with approving projects and overseeing support for relief measures and the energy transition.
According to the Federation of Thai Industries, 621,166 cars were sold domestically in 2025, including 120,301 passenger EVs. About 1.7 million motorcycles were also sold in 2025.
Business groups push for locally made EVs
Successive Thai governments have promoted EV manufacturing and adoption through a range of tax breaks and incentives to maintain the country’s position as a regional automaking heavyweight.
So far, the efforts have attracted more than US$4 billion in investments, including from Chinese firms BYD and Great Wall Motor. But the current EV policy ends in 2027, and vehicle groups have warned that the industry could face a sharp decline.
Any new incentives or programmes should be targeted at domestically manufactured EVs that use a majority of locally sourced parts, said Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesperson for the Federation of Thai Industries’ Automotive Industry Club.
“More domestic EV production means more jobs, higher incomes and greater tax revenue, (and) is a win-win for businesses, consumers and the government,” Surapong said in a phone call.
Any trade-in scheme for EVs should also be for locally produced vehicles, said Siamnat Panassorn, vice-president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand.
“We would like to push for EV motorcycles and public buses, vehicles that typically have high emissions,” he said.
Plans for taxis and pickup trucks
“The goal is to encourage EV adoption across all types while benefiting the public through cleaner and safer technology,” Siripong said.
“There will definitely be something this year, but we need to finalise the details first,” he said, adding that the discussions were expected to continue for another month.
For taxi drivers replacing vehicles that reach the 10-year age limit in 2027, the government is considering financing support for EVs that would cut daily loan repayments to 500 baht from about 700 baht for five years, according to Siripong.
Support for other types of EVs, including minibuses, vans, buses, tuk-tuks and heavy transport vehicles, would vary, he said.
Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said last week the programme would also support new purchases and the replacement of pick-ups with EVs, as well as a shift to models capable of using B20 biodiesel, through low-interest loans and subsidies.
Pick-ups are the backbone of Thailand’s motor vehicle industry, representing more than 60 per cent of overall vehicle production and underpinning a vast network of local suppliers, manufacturing jobs and parts production. - Reuters
