MERGER OF EQUALS
The electric vehicle scheme can run alongside the state-supported eco-car project, says the Board of Investment.
The government’s electric vehicle (EV) scheme will not affect the state-supported eco-car project because the two programmes can run in parallel, says the Board of Investment (BoI).
The BoI will merge the two projects and let eco-car makers apply for investment privileges for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), said Chatri Limpongsai, executive director of BoI’s investment bureau.
Speaking at a seminar on the automotive industry and Thailand 4.0 held yesterday by the Thai Automotive Industry Association, Mr Chatri said eco-car output under HEV or PHEV platforms can be counted on to reach 100,000 units, which is the BoI’s requirement for the eco-car project.
But makers of eco-cars must have CO2 emissions of below 120 grammes per kilometre for the first phase, dipping to 100g/ km for the second phase.
“I believe the new EV packages can attract all existing car manufacturers in the country because the BoI does not require a minimum budget investment, additional safety specifications or a larger production capacity. Each manufacturer can create its own economies of scale,” he said.
Last week the BoI approved promotional privileges for production of three types of electric cars: HEVs, PHEVs and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The promotions include passenger cars, pickup trucks and buses, with different rates of privileges based on production technology.
Investments in HEVs are entitled to tariff exemptions for imported machinery, while PHEV investment is eligible for a corporate income tax exemption for three years and import tariff exemptions on machinery.
PHEV investors that manufacture more than one key EV part will be entitled to an additional year of corporate income tax exemption per piece, but the combined tax exemptions cannot exceed six years.
BEV investment is entitled to five to eight years of corporate tax exemption. BEV investors that manufacture more than one key EV part will be entitled to another year of corporate income tax exemption per piece, but the combined tax exemption cannot exceed 10 years.
Battery electric buses will be entitled to tariff exemptions for imported machinery and a three-year corporate tax exemption. They are also eligible for an additional year of corporate income tax exemption per piece, with the combined tax exemption not to exceed six years.
Moreover, the cabinet approved on Tuesday exemption of duties on imported BEVs to be sold here, including a steep excise tax cut for EVs to stimulate domestic demand. The excise tax for HEVs and PHEVs that emit less than 100g/km of CO2 will be cut to 5% from 10%, while similar BEVs will have an excise tax of just 2%.
HEVs and PHEVs releasing CO2 of 101150, 151-200 and over 200g/km will have excise taxes of 10%, 12.5% and 15%, cut from 20%, 25% and 30%, respectively. These are temporary measures for up to two years, said Mr Chatri.
Nattapol Rangsitpol, inspector-general of the Industry Ministry, said EVs will become popular under Thailand 4.0 because conventional vehicles are becoming out of date.
“Diesel engines are now obsolete as people are more concerned about the environment. EVs are the answer for the country’s automotive industry as demand wanes for diesel and petrol vehicles,” he said.