Toyota Motor is calling on the Thai government to provide a comprehensive package of incentives to help encourage sales and production of hybrid electric vehicles in the country.
Toyota Motor Thailand senior vice-president Suparat Sirisuwanangkura told local reporters he would request the government introduce a broader package of incentives including favourable import duty rates and lower excise, sales and registration taxes to encourage growth in the domestic market.
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At the end of last year there were over 70,000 hybrid vehicles on Thai roads, according to government data.
Khun Suparat said high prices have discouraged local purchases of hybrid vehicles so far. Low volume means key components still have to be imported from Japan. This also makes it difficult to develop hybrids into an export industry.
Toyota launched production of the Prius at its Chachoengsa plant in 2010 but this was suspended last year due to low demand. Currently, the Camry hybrid is still in production.
Honda and Nissan also produce hybrid models in Thailand – versions of the Accord and X-Trail respectively.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW, by contrast, enjoy strong demand for premium hybrids in Thailand, with existing incentives making them competitive with conventional locally assembled CKD and imported CBU models.
