The national electric vehicle policy board (EV Board) of Thailand will be urging its new government to pass the EV 3.5 package, The Nation Thailand has reported.

This package includes discounts for purchases of electric vehicles, the establishing of EV manufacturing plants and the offering of incentives for EV battery production facilities, the report wrote. The EV board will await clear instructions on whether the board’s structure will be changed, said EV board secretary and permanent secretary to the industry ministry of Thailand Nattapol Rangsitpol.

The measures as laid out in the EV 3.5 package will be proposed by the board to the new cabinet for approval should the current structure remain. These new measures aim to expand and enhance the existing EV 3.0 package that focuses on offering discounts for imported EVs, as well as setting manufacturing targets specifically for EVs, according to The Nation.

The current EV 3.0 package in Thailand is set to expire this year, the report wrote; measures in the current package require automakers to produce a number of vehicles in the country to compensate for imports, and the EV 3.0 package provides a maximum discount of 150,000 baht (RM19,892) per vehicle for buyers.

Under the proposed EV 3.5 package, measures include the provision of subsidies of around 100,000 baht (RM13,263) per vehicle for imported EVs, and it requires automakers to establish EV manufacturing plants in Thailand producing at a ratio of two to three times the number of imports.

As such, the benefits and privileges in the EV 3.5 package will be slightly less generous than those in the EV 3.0 package, which is to maintain fairness with manufacturers who have already benefitted from the earlier measures, The Nation wrote.

Further measures include the promotion of investment in electric vehicles and components, establishing standards for EVs and components, setting up national automotive testing centres and tyre testing centres, as well as the installation of EV charging stations in public areas.

The aim of the EV 3.5 package is to motivate automakers in Thailand which have yet to participate in the outgoing EV 3.0 package, which are European brands in particular, the report noted. These European brands are expected to receive attention as Thailand’s EV market continues to grow significantly with ‘hundreds of percent’ in monthly growth, according to the report.

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