Thailand is reviewing a THB 24 billion (US$ 710 million) programme to replace up to 80,000 ageing commercial vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) and is also evaluating whether the initiative should be expanded to include passenger EV purchases as part of the country's broader energy transition strategy.

The proposed replacement of tens of thousands of conventional vehicles with EVs is intended to support Thailand's automotive industry. Thailand remains Southeast Asia's largest automotive production hub, but domestic vehicle sales fell to a 15-year low in 2024 as high household debt and tighter lending standards weakened demand, particularly for pickup trucks, which remain a significant segment of the market.

An initial proposal presented to a government committee in June focused on replacing commercial transport vehicles, including taxis, motorcycle taxis, tuk-tuks, buses and trucks, with electric alternatives. Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat said the government is reviewing whether the assistance should be extended beyond commercial transport vehicles.

"We are reconsidering whether the assistance should be extended to all vehicle categories, not just those for transport," Siripong said.

Discussions on expanding the programme accelerated after Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that the government's THB 400 billion emergency borrowing plan was lawful, allowing additional public spending to proceed. The Cabinet approved the borrowing plan in May before it was challenged by opposition lawmakers approximately two weeks later.

Under the borrowing plan, the government has proposed allocating half of the THB 400 billion to consumption stimulus measures, including the Thais Help Thais co-payment scheme and other support for vulnerable groups affected by rising living costs. The remaining half has been earmarked for energy transition projects. However, opposition lawmakers have expressed concerns about the lack of detailed information regarding some of the proposed projects and whether certain allocations had already been informally arranged.

The Ministry of Transport has submitted its proposal to a review committee led by the Ministry of Finance. Siripong said assistance for EV purchases could be provided through subsidies, low-interest loans and tax incentives for vehicles meeting specified replacement age requirements. The committee is responsible for approving projects under the borrowing plan while overseeing both economic relief measures and energy transition initiatives.

According to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), domestic vehicle sales reached 621,166 units in 2025, an increase of 8% compared with 2024. The total included 120,301 passenger EVs, while approximately 1.7 million motorcycles were also sold during the year. FTI data also showed that vehicle sales, including pickup trucks, increased by 14% year on year to 288,242 units during the first five months of this year, with EVs accounting for around 30% of total sales.

Thailand has spent several years promoting EV production and adoption through tax incentives and other support measures. These measures have attracted more than US$ 4 billion in investments from manufacturers including BYD and Great Wall Motor. However, the current EV incentive programme is scheduled to end in 2027, prompting industry groups to warn that the sector could face a significant slowdown without additional support.

Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesperson for the FTI's Automotive Industry Club, said that any future incentives should focus on domestically manufactured EVs with a high proportion of locally sourced components.

"More domestic EV production means more jobs, higher incomes and greater tax revenue, and is a win-win for businesses, consumers and the government," Surapong said.

Siamnat Panassorn, Vice-President of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, also supported limiting any trade-in programme to locally produced EVs while prioritising high-emission vehicle categories.

"We would like to push for EV motorcycles and public buses, vehicles that typically have high emissions," he said.

Siripong said the programme's objective is to encourage EV adoption across all vehicle categories while reducing transport emissions.

"There will definitely be something this year, but we need to finalise the details first," he said, adding that discussions are expected to continue for another month.

As part of the proposal, taxi drivers replacing vehicles that reach the 10-year age limit next year could receive financing support that would reduce daily loan repayments for EVs from around THB 700 to THB 500 over a five-year period.

Support for other vehicle categories, including minibuses, vans, buses, tuk-tuks and heavy commercial vehicles, would vary according to vehicle type. Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said last week that the programme would also support new vehicle purchases, the replacement of pickup trucks with EVs, and a transition to pickup models capable of operating on B20 biodiesel through low-interest loans and subsidies.

Pickup trucks account for more than 60% of Thailand's total vehicle production and support a network of component suppliers, manufacturing facilities and employment across the sector.