Opt for an EV if you want to avoid pain at the pump
With petrol prices zooming past Bt40 per litre, many Thais are seriously considering electric vehicles. The Nation presents a comparison between the use of a conventional car and an EV.
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.
