FTI urges government to overhaul imported EV excise to ensure fairness
Vehicle sales rose 15.39% to 406,162 from January to July 2026, but one-tonne pickup sales fell 17.38%, while domestic electric passenger-car production totalled 46,924 units.
- The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is urging the government to reform the excise-duty structure for imported electric vehicles (EVs) to ensure fair competition for vehicles made in Thailand.
- The request is prompted by a 97.39% surge in EV sales, with imported models accounting for 63% of the total EV market.
- This boom in imported EVs contrasts with a 17.38% decline in sales of one-tonne pickup trucks, a sector vital to Thailand's domestic parts manufacturing and employment.
The Automotive Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) reported that Thailand’s vehicle market recorded total sales of 406,162 units from January to July 2026, up 15.39% from the same period last year.
Of these, 125,411 were electric passenger vehicles (EVs), up 97.39% and accounting for a 30.88% market share.
Of the 125,411 EVs sold, 63% were imported.
The Automotive Industry Club therefore urged the government to accelerate changes to the excise-duty structure for imported EVs to ensure fair treatment for vehicles made in Thailand.
One-tonne pickup sales fall 17.38%
Sales of one-tonne pickup trucks, the backbone of Thailand’s automotive industry because they use a high proportion of locally made parts and create jobs, totalled 37,369 units during the seven months, down 17.38% from January to July 2025.
Surapong Paisitpatanapong, adviser to the chairman of the Automotive Industry Club, said it was particularly concerning that, of the 406,162 vehicles sold in the first seven months of the year, 125,411 were electric passenger vehicles, an increase of 97.39%.
Only 46,924 electric passenger vehicles were produced domestically, equivalent to 37.42% of electric passenger-vehicle sales.
Imported EVs therefore accounted for 62.58% of electric passenger-vehicle sales, prompting calls for a review of tax arrangements that may be unfair to internal-combustion vehicles and EVs produced in Thailand.
Government urged to restructure vehicle taxes
“Another matter of great concern is that pickup sales have continued to fall to just over 10,000 units, compared with more than 30,000 units a month previously, a decline of more than 60%.
This is because financial institutions have remained strict on lending in response to the economy’s low growth rate over several quarters.
Economic growth was 1.9% in the second quarter of this year, down from 2.8% in the first quarter.”
The decline in sales of pickups, which use up to 90% locally produced parts, has affected pickup-parts manufacturers and led to declines in other industries across the pickup supply chain.
It has also affected the country’s Manufacturing Production Index, which has either declined or recorded only low growth in some months, while capacity utilisation has been below 60% of total capacity.
Higher pickup sales and production would provide more work and income for workers throughout the supply chain.
This would strengthen domestic purchasing power, enable greater spending on goods and larger household debt repayments, and increase investment and employment.
The government would collect more excise duty, value-added tax and income tax, providing funds for national development and investment to improve people’s living standards.
As the economy improved and grew at a higher rate, it would attract investment from abroad and from Thai investors, creating a reinforcing cycle of increasingly stronger growth.
As manufacturers and investors produced and sold more, made profits, maintained good liquidity and avoided losses, existing manufacturers would be encouraged to remain and continue investing in Thailand without having to worry about other countries persuading them to relocate their production bases.
