The Thai government announced plans to bring forward its electric vehicle (EV) production and local sales requirements for the local industry.
According to local reports, the country's National New Generation Vehicle Committee, chaired by deputy prime minister and minister of energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow, confirmed it had approved requests by the private sector to accelerate EV production in the country.
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The committee said, by 2035, it wants all EVs sold in Thailand to be produced locally, five years ahead of its previous schedule. It also said it wants 50% of vehicle production in the country to be EVs by 2030.
Supattanapong told local reporters: "We need to accelerate the use and demand of electric motorcycles in a bid to meet these high targets."
The committee's decision was backed by the Federation of Thai Industries, the country's main industry lobby group. Its president, Supant Mongkolsuthree, said the new goal"will help Thailand become a global production base for EVs within 15 years".
Supant said, under the new plan, Thailand could produce 1.051m EVs annually by 2025, including 400,000 passenger and pickup vehicles, 31,000 commercial vehicles and 620,000 motorcycles.
The FTI also forecast, under the new plan, around 6.22m EVs would be registered in Thailand by 2030, including 2.93 passenger and pickup vehicles, 156,000 commercial vehicles and 3.13m motorcycles. Total EVs in use would rise to 18.41m by 2035.
The National New Generation Vehicle Committee also approved the establishment of four new sub-committees to coordinate research into issues such as electronic vehicle infrastructure, taxation and incentives and development of an EV production ecosystem including a local supply chain and supporting infrastructure.
