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Thailand will allocate 34 billion baht ($970 million) through to 2027 to fund its ambition of becoming a major production hub for electric vehicles, renewing a flagship incentive program in the Southeast Asian nation.
Foreign EV makers will be eligible to receive up to 40% cuts on import duties and a reduced excise tax rate of 2% for their completely-built electric cars brought into Thailand in 2024 and 2025, according to Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Board of Investment. In return, EV makers will have to manufacture EVs locally in Thailand by 2027.
“The EV 3.5 package will bolster more investments in Thailand’s EV industry and facilitate traditional players’ transition to EV,” he said in reference to the new scheme.
“The package will also attract new EV makers to set up manufacturing bases in Thailand.”
The new package renews the government’s EV ambitions to help Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
A longstanding auto manufacturing hub known as “Detroit of Asia,” Thailand wants to make 30% of its car output electric by 2030 to retain its status as a regional powerhouse in the age of EVs.
Since the first phase launched in 2022, Thailand has attracted a slew of Chinese EV makers such as BYD Co, Great Wall Motor Co, SAIC Motor and Changan Automobile. These Chinese players are fast challenging the dominance of legacy Japanese and western automakers, which have long been making and exporting internal combustion engine cars from Thailand.
The government approved an additional 7.1 billion baht budget to fund the current buyers incentive program, deputy government spokeswoman Rudklao Suwankiri told reporters.