EV or ICE ?

[Roger]

"The Board of Investment (BOI) says Thailand has expanded incentives to boost the use of electric vehicles (EVs), as the kingdom looks to preserve its status as a major Southeast Asian auto production hub" . . . . .

BUT, is the case for EV as strong as we think ? I noticed this the other day and thought it very interesting. If you dig into the links behind the review in this you'll see comments are based on very detailed research carried out by VOLVO no less - surely it's credible. Is Thailand necessarily right in following the style and the trend in trying to promote EV over ICE?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOyzLSBCBWo&ab_channel=AutoTrader

For me EV's are great for shorter journeys, commuting, shopping etc. but maybe impracticable for very long journeys around greater Thailand. But in and around pollution bound Bangkok - spot on.
However, if as suggested here, an EV has to do 146,000 km extra before it repays it's CO2 toll in manufacturing, the argument is wide open. And at some stage the massive battery packs will need replacing, exacerbating matters.

Horses for courses - EV's are excellent for pollution reduction in major Cities like Korat but otherwise, give me ICE with mine !

[rdrokit]

And the disposal of all the old ev batteries once they wear out.

[Roger]

Good point RDRO. As an example, someone in Chiang Mai with an EV - I'd like to hear an account of a journey to Bangkok    With pollution in Chiang Mai, the EV's will help of course, but the area where the EV was manufactured will suffer much more CO2 damage per vehicle made than with ICE vehicles.

Running costs - electricity isn't costing more in Thailand (yet?) but of course, there's CO2 produced when the recharge is generated . . .

I thought the VOLVO survey very interesting. I wonder if they have taken into account the disposal costs of the battery pack when expired, as you say, and about more pollution generated by a replacement set? Incidentally, I understand the power pack is unlikely to last longer than 10 years and replacement costs may be $5-10,000 dollars.

Also interesting is how the range might deplete as the power pack becomes older.

Lots to think about . . . . not least that with older EV's, the resale value must be affected by remaining years of battery life !

Here's the actual VOLVO report which is hard to get to from that Tube

https://www.volvocars.com/images/v/-/media/project/contentplatform/data/media/my23/xc40-electric-light/volvo-cars-LCA-report-xc40.pdf