Growing concern over carbon dioxide emitted from oil-fuelled tractor trucks is expected to cause operators to buy more electric trucks, says Elenergy, a local distributor of battery-powered tractors made by China's Geely Automobile.
The company predicts higher demand as the Thai government is expected to implement the Climate Change Act within this year, which authorises state agencies to request greenhouse gas emission data from specific industries to assess their carbon footprint.
Current greenhouse gas measurements, which are published in the annual reports of listed companies, are done on a voluntary basis.
Large companies should consider shifting from fossil fuel-based internal combustion engines to battery-run vehicles as the campaign for clean energy intensifies in 2025, said Anyarin Rojpatranun, co-founder and chief executive of Elenergy.
Authorities are eager to increase clean energy usage after former premier Prayut Chan-o-cha announced in 2021 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference that Thailand would be more aggressive in addressing climate change, striving to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and a net-zero target, which is a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and absorption, by 2065.
Elenergy wants to benefit from the energy transition by drawing buyers with its after-sales services.
The company believes it can sell 200 electric tractor trucks, with a maximum range of 350 kilometres per charge, during its first year of sales, which started in late 2024, she said.
"We learned about operators' hesitancy in buying electric trucks and turned it into a business opportunity," said Ms Anyarin.
Operators are worried about a long charging time, battery heat and a relatively short battery life, she said. Elenergy offers a battery swapping service to help customers prepare carbon dioxide reduction reports.
Drivers with low battery levels can replace their batteries with fully charged ones at a battery swapping station. The process takes five minutes, similar to the time to refuel with petroleum, said Ms Anyarin.
The company is expanding its battery swapping stations from the Bangkok metropolitan area to major routes in the central and eastern regions, said Sylvester Lee, co-founder and chief technology officer of Elenergy.
There are 40,000 registered tractor trucks in Thailand and most use diesel and compressed natural gas. Battery-powered tractor trucks represent less than 1%.
"Greater use of electric trucks not only helps cut carbon dioxide emissions, but also can reduce companies' operating costs by up to 40%," said Ms Anyarin.