Stimulating investment in electric vehicles, on the road to becoming an EV hub

       Because of the government’s policy to promote the production of EVs, the National Electric Vehicle Board (EV Board) has come out with its “30@30" policy, which means that at least 30% of total vehicle production in 2030 (B.E. 2573) will be  ZEVs (Zero Emission Vehicles). The aim is to move forward into a low-carbon society and to be a production base of EVs and important parts in the world – in other words, an EV hub. 

       The Office of the Board of Investment, or BOI, has several measures to promote the production of EVs and parts. From 2017 to August 2022), there have been 26 projects from 17 companies promoted, with a total investment value of 80,208.6 million baht (excluding cost of land and working capital), with a total production capacity of 838,775 vehicles; They are divided into the following types of vehicles:

• Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), with the highest number, 440,955 units, valued at 38,623.9 million baht;
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), with 137,600 units, valued at 11,665.6 million baht;
• Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), with 256,220 units, valued at 27,745.2 million baht;
• Battery Electric Bus, with 4,000 units, valued at 2,173.8 million baht.

       The stimulus for investments by entrepreneurs is the policy to promote electric vehicle production projects, along with the expansion of the production of key parts for EVs. The investment promotion conditions require electric vehicle manufacturers to produce or use batteries locally, and if the car manufacturer produces or uses essential parts, such as Battery Management Systems (BMS), Drive Control Units (DCU), or Traction Motor, in the country, they will be entitled to additional corporate income tax exemptions for EV manufacturing businesses, such as the EV production businesses, mainly focusing on battery EVs (BEV) and producing hybrid EVs together. If the investment size is not less than 5,000 million baht, they will be entitled to 8-year corporate income tax exemption; if the investment size is less than 5,000 million baht, battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturers will be entitled to 3-year corporate income tax exemption, and they will be entitled to more benefits if the criteria are met.

       In addition, businesses involved in producing battery electric motorcycles, battery electric tricycles, electric buses, and battery electric trucks will be entitled to a 3-year corporate income tax exemption, with additional benefits if the criteria are met. 

The measures to promote the use of electric battery cars during the period 2022-2025 are as follows:

1. To subsidize 70,000-150,000 baht per car or pickup, and 18,000 baht per motorcycle;
2. To reduce the excise tax on cars from 8% to 2%, and on pick-up trucks to 0%;
3. To reduce import duty on both foreign-made and imported cars (CBU), up to 40% for cars, until 2023;
4. To grant exemption of import duty on domestically produced cars (CKD) in the amount of 9 items.

Source: Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT)
Tel: +668 6390 3339