On February 15, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet approved in principle a package of incentives to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Thailand, with the aim of making the country an EV manufacturing hub in Asia. A week later, the cabinet approved further draft regulations including specific information on customs duty reductions and exemptions for certain types of imported EVs. The plan includes both tax and non-tax incentives from 2022 until 2025. In the first two years (2022–2023), the package incentivizes the widespread use of EVs in Thailand by providing exemption or reduction of import duties and excise tax, as well as subsidies to increase the demand for EVs and attract investment in the EV industry. These incentives will cover the importation of completely built up (CBU) cars and motorcycles, and the local manufacturing of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles in Thailand. For the following two years (2024–2025), the plan promotes the use of domestically produced EVs by eliminating the exemption or reduction of import duties for CBU vehicles while maintaining the other incentives (e.g., reduced excise tax rates, and subsidies). The aim of this is to make the cost of CBU vehicles higher than locally produced vehicles to encourage operators to produce EVs in the country to meet increasing demand. Additional measures encourage the manufacturing of EVs in Thailand, including exemption of import duties for parts imported between 2022 and 2025, and treatment of the value of imported battery cells as a cost of local manufacturing (up to 15% of an EV’s retail price). This is beneficial to local manufacturers of EVs, as their activities will be entitled to a more generous incentive package than importation of EVs. At their meeting on February 22, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet further approved draft subordinate regulations, including specific reductions and exemptions of customs duty

The Energy Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has launched a pilot project to study the energy consumption and the economic, social, and environmental impact of electric motorcycle taxis, as well as the behavior of drivers and passengers. The project, which was launched on December 27, 2021, as part of EGAT’s Carbon Neutrality Policy, will continue for a year, after which EGAT will consider the data and decide whether electric motorcycle taxis should be introduced nationwide. EGAT is also currently encouraging the use of electric bikes within their own organization, and they initially expect this to help reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 37 tons and prevent the release of about 838,000 milligrams of dust per year. EGAT expects additional significant reductions from electric motorcycle taxi pilot projects in multiple locations. A study conducted in Kenya in 2015 by that country’s energy regulator found that sub-150cc motorcycles emit approximately 46.5 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, and these emissions increase proportionally in accordance with engine size. According to Thailand’s Office of Industrial Economics, citing data collected by the Federation of Thai Industries Automotive Industry Group, a total of 1,516,096 motorcycles were sold in Thailand in 2020—a surprisingly robust figure in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Assuming that public motorcycles travel an average of 15,000 kilometers per year, each motorcycle is therefore producing approximately 0.7 tons of carbon dioxide per year. If Thailand is able to change 50% of its yearly sales of standard motorcycle to electric motorcycles, annual carbon dioxide emissions could decrease by approximately 530,000 tons. Furthermore, since 28.8% of carbon dioxide emissions in Thailand are generated from the transport sector, the transition to electric mobility vehicles looks to be one of the most promising solutions for lowering carbon dioxide emissions in the country. Considering developments

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) recently published BOI Notification No. Sor. 8/2564, which extends the scope of investment promotion covering electronic vehicle (EV) industry manufacturers to include the production of “automotive platforms” for electric vehicles, and creates a new category of BOI promoted activities covering the manufacture of electric bicycles (E-bikes). Automotive Platforms The following investment promotion categories have been extended: 4.24 – Manufacture of Battery Electric Vehicles 4.26 – Manufacture of Electric Battery Tricycles 4.27 – Manufacture of Electric Battery Busses and Trucks These categories now include the manufacture of “automotive platforms”—which must include an energy storage system, charging module, and front and rear axle module—benefiting from similar tax incentives and subject to additional conditions, as detailed below. New BOI Promotional Category for E-Bike Production The BOI has also introduced a new category, No. 4.28, covering the manufacture of E-bikes. Projects under this category will be eligible for a three-year CIT exemption with an additional one-year exemption if certain criteria are met. Applications for this category must cover the manufacture of E-bikes, the manufacture or sourcing of electric batteries, and a management plan for used batteries. In addition to the general conditions for EV projects (industrial standards, manufacturing timelines, etc.), the BOI has also imposed the following conditions specific to E-bike projects: E-bike frames must be produced from light-weight materials such as aluminum alloy, chromium–molybdenum alloy steel (chrome moly), titanium alloy, and carbon fiber; and E-bike batteries must adopt environmentally-friendly technology. Interestingly the BOI allows E-bike production lines to jointly use manufacturing lines for ordinary bicycles. However, the sale of ordinary bicycles is regarded as non-BOI-promoted income and will not be entitled to BOI tax incentives. These new provisions, intended to stimulate both local and foreign investments in the electric automotive industry, seem to complete the BOI promotion

Thailand’s Transport Ministry has issued new rules for ride-hailing services, aiming to strictly regulate the types of vehicle that can be registered, the number of registered vehicles per user, and the fees that are levied and collected.