Tesla sees swift sales in Thailand as consumers snap up over 5,000 units in 3 days
American electric vehicle maker Tesla has had a swift start in Thailand, with consumers reserving more than 5,000 units of the two models it is selling here within three days of their debut last week, the company announced on its Thai website on Saturday.
It has been inundated with reservations and questions since opening its website for reservations on December 7 for its Model Y and Model 3 vehicles, said executives at the Thai unit of the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker by market capitalisation.
Tesla Thailand also made headlines this week by announcing it would only require a 4,000-baht deposit for each model. The company also confirmed that the first batch of 1,500 units will be delivered from February.
Tesla Model Y has three types, with prices ranging from 1.95 to 2.5 million baht. The more affordable Model 3 also has three types, priced from 1.75 to 2.3 million baht.
Tesla has yet to officially join the government’s EV subsidy programme, although the Excise Department said on Friday that it is in talks with Tesla about the programme.
Under the scheme, EV automakers are entitled to subsidies and cuts on import duties of up to 150,000 baht per vehicle priced below 2 million baht, and up to 800,000 baht per vehicle selling for more than 2 million baht.
Department director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Friday that more than 25,000 EVs will be sold in Thailand this year thanks to the subsidy programme, which has already distributed 81 million baht from its total budget of 2.9 billion baht.
