The government is being urged to provide tax privileges to manufacturers and buyers of electric vehicles (EVs) and invest in plug-in charger infrastructure.

Matthias Pfalz, president of Germany-based, BMW Group Thailand, said each local car maker was capable of making electric models if the government could only provide attractive tax incentives and invest in related charging infrastructure for drivers.

He pointed to government incentives for EVs in Norway, where all-electric cars are exempt from all non-recurring vehicle fees including purchase taxes, which are extremely high for ordinary cars, and 25% value-added tax (VAT) on purchases, making them price-competitive with conventional automobiles.

In addition, Norway's EV drivers are exempt from annual road tax, all public parking fees and toll payments and are allowed to use bus lanes as well. Norway's fleet of plug-in EVs is the largest per capita, and Oslo is recognised as the EV capital of the world. The group has imported two electric models into the Thai market, the 2014 BMW i8 and the 2015 BMW i3.

"Those models carry import duties of as high as 80%, plus 10% excise tax and 7% VAT," Mr Pfalz said. Prices of the BMW i8 are set at 11.9 to 12.5 million baht, while those of the BMW i3, launched just yesterday, have not yet been disclosed.

EVs are in the spotlight again after Industry Minister Chakramon Phasukvanich last week said the Board of Investment (BoI) would eventually offer special incentives to car makers to promote local EV production. Promotion plans are expected to be ready in five years. The BoI already offers a full package of privileges to manufacturers investing in auto-parts production for EVs and hybrid vehicles.

In a related development, BMW Group Thailand yesterday reported a new sales record for 2014, with 8,386 BMWs and Minis sold here last year, up by 2.93% from 2013. BMW sales declined slightly by 0.9% to 7,465 vehicles but Mini figures surged 51% to 921 deliveries, marking the highest growth for the marque worldwide.

Big-bike brand BMW Motorrad also achieved 700 deliveries, up by 75% and ranking Thailand as its second fastest-growing market after China. Mr Pfalz forecasts the luxury-vehicle segment will maintain tepid, single-digit growth this year even though this segment has been affected less by the sluggish overall automobile market.

Some 20,000 luxury vehicles of all marques were sold last year, up by 7% from 2013. This year the group expects sales growth for all three of its brands, particularly BMW.