On December 4th, the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) announced that Thailand will extend the production schedule for pure electric vehicles and provide incentives for hybrid electric vehicles to support the Thai automotive industry and make Thailand a production center for electric vehicles in Southeast Asia.

BOI Secretary General Narit Therdsteerasukdi stated at a press conference that Thailand has imported 84000 pure electric vehicles through the EV 3.0 program so far.

BOI also stated that some of the unfulfilled production commitments from the first electric vehicle incentive plan will be transferred to the next incentive plan. Narit Therdsteerasukdi stated after the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee meeting of the Thai government that the purpose of doing so is to "avoid a potential price war caused by oversupply".

According to the Thailand EV 3.5 incentive plan that came into effect this year, by 2026, for every imported car in Thailand, two cars will be produced domestically; By 2027, Thailand will have to produce three cars domestically for every imported car.

According to reports, due to a sharp decline in electric vehicle sales in Thailand, electric vehicle manufacturers are planning to renegotiate incentive terms for Thai electric vehicles. BOI stated that the Thai government meeting on December 4th also approved a reduction in the consumption tax rate for some locally produced hybrid electric vehicles and mild hybrid electric vehicles in Thailand.

The above measures are the latest steps to support the struggling Thai automotive industry. Due to the current economic slowdown and credit tightening in Thailand, as well as the stagnant growth of the domestic automotive market, the future of the Thai automotive industry is facing severe challenges.

According to the Thai government's EV 3.0 plan, companies that receive tax incentives and other support for electric vehicles must produce the same number of electric vehicles in Thailand this year as they will import between 2022 and 2023. If they miss this deadline, their task next year will be even more arduous, as they need to produce 1.5 electric vehicles for every imported electric vehicle next year to offset it.

Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia and a hub for automobile assembly and export in the region. In recent years, companies such as BYD and Great Wall Motors have made a wave of electric vehicle investments worth over $1.44 billion in Thailand.