Those with electric vehicles in Thailand know about the pain of charging. You have different operators with different apps and the entire situation is messy. That could soon be changing, however. Thai EV charging stations have a plan in place as they look to avoid previous transportation mistakes.
EV adoption in Thailand has been surprisingly high. In fact, there were 50,347 electric vehicle registrations in Thailand during the first nine months of 2023 which accounted for almost 10 percent of new car sales in the Kingdom.
The sector is also keenly aware that greater take-up rates will only happen if the charging process is easy. There are more than 13 different EV charging station operators in the country with none of them being connected. It’s not fun to navigate.
In some ways, the situation is reminiscent of what happened between the BTS, MRT and Airport Rail Link. Despite these public transit links connecting at several points in Bangkok, there is no single ticketing system: three separate systems, three separate cards.
Now, there has been talk for more than a decade of streamlining this, but nothing tangible happened. The much-hyped Mangmoom Card, or Spider Card in English, never came to fruition. It remains a source of frustration to this day.
It is a situation Thai EV charging stations are keen to avoid. And unlike the various public transit operators, something is actually being done.
EV charging station operators are working together via a so-called “Charging Consortium” led by the Electronic Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT). The group is implementing a system so car owners can pay to use any charging facility through their app of choice.
So, how would it work? A person paying through one app but charging with a different operator would be assessed a small roaming fee in addition to the normal costs. No word yet on just how much this fee would be but it is not expected to be cost prohibitive.
More importantly, progress on this is already being made. The first pilot program is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2023 with three operators participating. Should everything go as planned, it will expand to include more next year, according to EVAT President Khun Krisda Utamote.
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Interesting Analysis – Thai EV charging stations
This is an imperfect solution but a solution, nonetheless. As we have seen with ATM usage, people don’t love paying fees. In this case though, it still beats the alternative. That is navigating a seemingly endless array of EV charging apps, many of which don’t function as well as they should.
As mentioned in my Bangkok to Samui EV trip video, the fragmented nature of charging is probably the single most significant pain point regarding ownership. I can go to any gas station to purchase gas. No downloads, no need to figure out brands and no wasted time.
The “Charging Consortium” and roaming fee are a step in the right direction. As we here in Bangkok saw with the BTS and MRT ticketing system, doing something about an issue is certainly better than letting users suffer due to bureaucratic infighting.
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