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6 Things to Know Before Buying an EV Car
Many countries throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia like China and Japan have encouraged their people to drive Electric Vehicle (EV) cars to reduce pollution and avoid carbon emissions into the atmosphere. As combustion cars currently using oil is a cause of PM 2.5, most governments across the world have issued policy incentives to motivate people to use EV cars. For example, Norway offers an exemption from registered tax and value-added tax, provides free public EV charging and free of charge toll fee, allows EV cars to drive in public car lanes, and to park free in public car parks. Entrepreneurs who install charging stations will also get financial support from the government. In 2022, the government has set goals to market EV cars at 80% of all car sales volume nationwide and will no longer sell combustion cars within 2025.
The German government also sets target to be a world leader in manufacturing and using EV cars and has offered several benefit policies such as refraining from collecting EV car taxes for 5-10 years, giving 5,000 Euros to EV car buyers, providing separate car park free of charge, offering privilege to drive in special lanes and enter restricted areas.
Thailand’s EV market is underway, and people have become more interested in driving EV cars. Referring to Motor Expo in November 2021, 7,000 out of total 31,000 car reservations are EV which represent 22% of those who aim to buy new cars, and that’s a welcome sign for the EV cars market in Thailand. You may consider the following factors to get prepared if you’re planning to buy an EV car.
1. Battery capacity and the longest drivable distance
For example, a 100% EV car or so-called BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) using A 60 - 90 kW battery will last 338 - 473 kilometers on a single charge. If you need long distances, you’d better choose the car with more battery capacity, and you’ll certainly have to pay a higher car price according to battery performance.
2.
Battery charging time
Each EV series or brand has a different battery charging time depending on capacity. For example, a regular home charging (AC) takes 12 - 16 hours, a quick EV Charger takes 3 - 4 hours, an express charging station (DC Charging) takes 40 - 60 minutes.
3.
Prepare EV Home charger
In Thailand, the current EV charging infrastructure like charging stations is insufficient. Even though the station is easily reachable, the charger may not be compatible with your EV car due to brand variation. For your convenience, you may install a home charger but still need to change the higher electric meter at least 30Amp (A), home electrical wire to 25 square millimeters, and Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) to 100Amp (A) to meet demand in using more electrical power. You also need to add 1 slot of the circuit breaker in Main Distribution Board (MDB) to split it when using other electrical appliances at home. More, it’s a must to install Residual Current Device (RCD) to protect against electric shock in case of short circuits. More importantly, an EV socket is needed to plug-in the car charger adapter into the car plug of each car series. For safety reasons, wiring circuits of the home charging point for EV must be separated and installed by an expert electrician only. Please see more details at
4. Fuel cost
When comparing fuel cost between oil and electrical charger, it’s found that EV charging fee is cheaper than oil filling up. Oil averagely costs 1.50 - 3 Baht/km while EV charging fee is averagely 0.26 - 0.50 Baht/km. Apparently, an EV car saves a lot more expensive than a petrol car.
5.
Maintenance fee
When comparing maintenance fees between petrol cars and EVs, EV car uses 100% electricity and has no engine, so it doesn’t need an oil change and rarely causes fussy problems. Averagely, the EV maintenance fee is 50% less than a petrol car. A petrol car requires much more maintenance because its engine comprises a bundle of parts which must be changed when worn out and engine oil also needs draining every 6 months or when the car reaches 5,000 - 10,000 km. However, when an EV car needs a repair, the auto parts fee costs more such as the battery change fee for Tesla is about 162,000 - 220,000 Baht. Although EV car users have no worries about maintenance but may need to pay up to one hundred thousand Baht whenever car repair is needed. A car center or general garage normally fits a petrol car; however, EV relies upon car center only as its technology is not widely known.
6. Look for a reliable brand with after-sales service
As EV car has just been introduced to Thailand, it’s essential to consider selecting a trusted brand with high manufacturing standards, and which can offer help in case of emergency because EV car can’t be repaired out of the service center.
Above all, before shifting to an EV car and to ensure you make the right decision, it’s recommended to study car details thoroughly such as, battery life, driving distance per single charge, battery charging time including maintenance fee, and after-sales service. If you’re about to buy a new EV car, please see details of a new SCB car loan service at
https://www.scb.co.th/th/personal-banking/loans/car-loans/auto-finance-new-car.html
Source :
https://www.magcarzine.com/ev-car-real-life/
https://th.carro.co/blog/5-things-for-home-ev-charging-station/
https://www.prachachat.net/motoring/news-820039
https://erdi.cmu.ac.th/?p=1478
https://www.mea.or.th/profile/3361/3440
https://www.autospinn.com/2020/04/comparing-maintenance-of-ev-car-petrol-car-78329
