Kiatnakin Bank (KKP) plans to offer electric vehicle (EV) loans to further drive the plethora of subsidies promoting the alternative energy car sector.
The bank will start financing EV and autonomous vehicles (AV) after the 2018 Bangkok International Motor Show, to be held from March 28 to April 8. These segments have been growing 20% annually in recent years.
In 2017, global EV sales topped 1 million units for the first time. Positive trends in the Thai market are a reflection of these broader trends, said Manit Wannavanit, head of sales distribution group.
There is no exact data for EV sales in Thailand. But the country's new car sales for the first two months of this year were 142,011 units, up 13% year-on-year. New car sales are forecast to reach 920,000 to 930,000 units this year, up 6% from last year, mainly driven by a broader economic recovery.
KKP, in partnership with Rizen Energy, is offering special campaigns for two popular electric car models -- Tesla's Model S and the BYD e6 -- which have gained traction in Hong Kong, Singapore, Belgium and the US.
The bank's auto loan interest rate offered for all vehicle segments starts from 1.99% per year.
Mr Manit said the bank has not set growth targets for EVs since it does not have clear data on Thailand's EV market, making it hard to predict demand.
"We don't have a target yet, but we want to induce growth of the EV segment in the next five years by introducing promotional campaigns at the motor show," he said.
This year, KKP aims to expand car loans (in term of new loan bookings) by 44 million baht, or 30%. The bank had extended 104 billion baht in auto loans by the end of last year.
KKP aims to maintain its non-performing auto loan ratio at 2%.
The bank recruited 200 new staff for its auto loan segment, and will recruit 100 more by year-end, said Mr Manit.
The company launched a Line account last month, which will spearhead its digital channel development.
Car loan applications via the new channel represent 10% of total auto loan applications, or 10,000 per month.