The government is being urged by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) to promote electric vehicle (EV) production on a gradual basis, possibly starting with hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
FTI chairman Chen Namchaisiri said HEVs could easily be made by relying on existing parts makers in the country, as such vehicles can run using both conventional engines and batteries.
"The FTI is gravely concerned about the negative impact, especially on parts makers, on conventional vehicles if the government promotes EV production in haste," Mr Chen said.
"Moreover, Thailand needs to invest a lot in charging stations and three more power plants to support electricity consumption if the government aims to create 1.2 million EVs by 2036 as proposed."
Mr Chen recommended development of EVs in tandem with improvements in the efficiency of local parts makers.
At present, there are four types of EVs. HEVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were developed first with two systems: electricity/petrol, and electricity/diesel.
Later, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were developed, fuelled purely by electricity. Fuel-cell EVs represent the latest technology.
In Thailand, there were 70,285 HEVs and PHEVs for all vehicle types as of last year. Of that, 69,816 units were registered as personal cars, according to vehicle registration at the Department of Land Transport.
For BEVs, there were 1,783 units for all types as of last year, but only 59 and 37 were registered as passenger cars and buses, respectively, with the remainder being electric motorcycles.
At present, Toyota, Honda and Nissan each produce only one HEV model -- Camry, Accord and X-Trail, respectively -- while Mercedes-Benz has localised its assembly production for HEV and PHEV models. BMW plans to assemble its PHEV models at its Rayong plant in the second half.
In a related development, the FTI's automotive industry club yesterday said vehicle output in June rose by 18.6% to 179,875 units, thanks to an increase in passenger cars for the domestic market and pickup trucks for export.
Output from January to June also increased by 6.2% to 933,380 vehicles.
Exports rose sharply by 39.4% to 107,025 units in June, driven by pickup trucks and eco-cars with a value of 57.46 billion baht, up by 63.6%. Shipments in the first half rose slightly by 3.3% to 594,823 vehicles, valued at 319.09 billion baht, up by 20.6%.
Domestic sales stood at 66,049 units last month, up by 9.5% for the third straight month.