Demand for EVs in Thailand to surge in 2024, according to survey of motorists
Demand for electric vehicles in Thailand will strengthen over the next two years before surging in 2024, according to a KResearch survey.
The research arm of Krungsri Bank surveyed 818 vehicle owners from November 10 to 30 last year. About 64 per cent of respondents were male and almost all were aged 35 to 54.
The survey showed demand for EVs is likely to pick up through 2022 and 2023, though sales will be concentrated in the mid-to-upper price range, KResearch said.
However, demand will accelerate in 2024 and as market focus shifts to smaller, more affordable vehicles.
Electric vehicle owners in the survey cited lower running costs (81 per cent), reduced environmental impacts (73 per cent), and technological appeal (59 per cent) as the three biggest reasons for buying EVs.
Branding and non-financial benefits such as access to special EV parking facilities did not appear to influence purchasing decisions.
For non-EV owners, the most commonly given reasons for not buying an EV were related to charging. The biggest deterrents were the limited number of charging stations, low range, the high purchase price of EVs compared to conventional vehicles, and slow charging speeds.
Eighty-three per cent of respondents expected to buy a vehicle within the next five years, citing the age of their current vehicle and desire to upgrade.
The 17 per cent who did not expect to buy a vehicle in the next 5 years said their vehicle was not old enough to need replacing and that EVs were too expensive.
Respondents were most interested in smaller EVs priced Bt750,000-1 million with a range in excess of 500 kilometres, service costs below 1 per cent of the ticket price, and charging times of 15-30 minutes per 100 kilometres, Krungsri Research said.
Meanwhile, 88 per cent said they would charge their EV at home, 50.4 per cent would use service stations, and 30.5 per cent would use department-store charging stations.
Survey respondents identified nine factors affecting their decision to buy an EV:
- Age of current vehicle
- Number of vehicles currently owned by the family
- Respondent’s level of technology adoption
- Respondent’s age
- Respondent’s education level
- Average distance travelled daily
- Respondent’s income
- Where they lived
- Respondent’s possessions
