Sunt Srianthumrong, a special lecturer at the National Institute of Development Administration’s Faculty of Environment Development Administration, suggested EV users apply for a Time of Use Tariff (TOU) electricity metre first. The comparison is based on a driving distance of 2,000 kilometres per month.
He provided some statistics:
Conventional cars:
- Petrol costs Bt40 per litre
- A vehicle consumes one litre of petrol per 16km
- Drives average 2,000km per month, 24,000km a year and 240,000km in ten years.
Cost conclusion:
- Bt5,000 a month, Bt60,000 a year and Bt600,000 for ten years.
An EV recharged at home using a TOU metre:
- Normal rate of electricity is Bt4.58 per unit
- After 10pm, the electricity rate drops to Bt2.80 per unit.
- An EV uses about one unit of power every 5-7km, so a 1km drive costs Bt0.56.
- If an EV is recharged after 10pm, the recharging cost is Bt1,121 per month, Bt13,459 per year and Bt134,592 for ten years.
Conclusion:
- An EV allows a motorist to save Bt3,787 per month, Bt46,540 a year or Bt465,408 in ten years.
- If petrol prices double, the electricity cost will also rise but not by much. EV motorists can save a good deal of money compared to conventional vehicle owners.
- An EV priced about Bt1 million is a much better choice than a conventional car.
- When the government’s EV promotion package is fully enforced, there will be several EV models to choose from.