Thailand plans to produce only electric vehicles by 2035

Thailand is a hub for vehicle manufacturing with a complete supply chain, home to major international car manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Great Wall Motors and Mercedes-Benz.

More than 2 million vehicles were produced annually in Thailand in 2018 and 2019, according to Statista. In 2020, the pandemic dropped that number to 1.4 million, and COVID-19 remains the biggest factor in the decline in car production and sales in Thailand in 2021.

As global automakers move towards electric vehicle production, Thailand is realizing the need to move in the same direction. According to the Bangkok Post, the National Committee for Electric Vehicle Policy aims to produce only electric vehicles (buses, cars and motorcycles) in the country by 2035, with a total of about 18.4 million units. In the near term, the committee aims to produce 1 million electric vehicles by 2025 and 6 million by 2030. The production of electric cars and pickups alone in Thailand is planned to be increased to 400,000 units by 2025, to 2.94 million units by 2030, and to 8.63 million units by 2035.

According to Nikkei Asia, investments in the production and construction of infrastructure for electric vehicles reached $ 2.5 billion in 2017-2019. The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) is expected to increase the budget for the construction of more auxiliary equipment for electric vehicles in the coming years. Data from the Electric Vehicle Manufacturers Association of Thailand (EVAT) show that there are now about 2,200 chargers in the country at 664 stations, and the number of electric vehicles registered in Thailand reached 100,000 as of April 2021. The government hopes there will be a million electric vehicles on the country’s roads by 2025.