Thailand’s switch to full electric cars hampered by insufficient charging infrastructure: ABeam Consulting

 

Lack of public charging stations and driving range anxiety  key concerns for Thai drivers

Almost three in four Thais don’t believe the current Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is adequate, although it’s clear there is an appetite among drivers to make the switch to EV, according to a new survey on attitudes to EV by ABeam Consulting Thailand. 

Thai respondents to the survey, run by ABeam Consulting in October 2021, are positive about the benefits of owning a full electric car, with over half (55%) believing that buying a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) is more cost-effective than owning a conventional internal combustion vehicle in the long run. Almost half of all respondents (48%) also believe BEVs offer reliable quality, and two in five (41%) would enjoy driving a BEV.

In addition to the driving experience, concern for the environment and incentives to buy were also important. Seven in ten drivers (71%) believe buying a BEV will help mitigate the impacts from climate change, and 43% agree that the government is offering enough incentives for promoting BEVs.

Every year the number of EV sales is increasing, with sales in 2021 surpassing all of 2020 sales by October. However, despite strong sentiment towards owning a full EV among Thai drivers, just 3% of all car buyers who plan to buy a car within the next 3 years believe their next purchase will be a BEV.

A lack comprehensive infrastructure is the main barrier for Thai drivers when thinking about buying a full electric vehicle. Almost three in four (72%) believe there are not enough public charging stations, and 67% are concerned they’d run out of power during their journey. Half of the respondents (50%) worry about charging taking too long, and two-thirds (66%) want to be able to fully charge in less than an hour.

At least 50% of Thai buyers think that at least 80% or more charging station coverage is needed in comparison to gas stations to make EV feasible, but currently there are only around 1,000 public charging stations in Thailand, compared to around 30,000 gas stations.

“As EV adoption grows, charging infrastructure needs to do the same as drivers will need a place to charge. While there was good growth of charging stations in 2020 due to good partnerships being established between car manufacturers and energy providers, more needs to be done to strengthen the infrastructure and incentivise collaboration. Technology is now available to simulate traffic patterns, congestion and commuting routes and this can help identify the best locations for EV charging stations in Bangkok initially, but this has to happen soon or an opportunity may be missed,” said Mr. Jonathan Vargas Ruiz, Head of ASEAN Automotive Strategy at ABeam Consulting (Thailand) Ltd.

ABeam Consulting, together with its partner Autofleet, can support local simulations to test current EV operations to project performance and customize deployment and strategy to help companies build their EV strategy to expand their infrastructure, as part of ABeam’s service portfolio for the EV industry.

To find out how ABeam Consulting Thailand can help identify opportunities for EV expansion, please contact contactthailand@abeam.com.

ABeam Consulting (Thailand) Ltd. is a subsidiary of ABeam Consulting Ltd. – headquartered in Tokyo having 6,600 people serve more than 1,100 clients throughout Asia, the Americas and Europe providing consulting services in Thailand since 2005, ABeam Consulting (Thailand) has more than 400 professionals serving more than 200 clients in Thailand with expertise in business and digital transformation services that create strategic advantage, improve business processes, leverage technology innovation and enhance organizational performance.

Please contact us at contactthailand@abeam.com or visit https://www.abeam.com/th/en for more details.