Economic factors affecting electric vehicle usage in Thailand

Abstract

This study aims 1) to study the economic factors affecting the number of electric vehicle registrations in Thailand both in the short term and in the long term  2) to study the causality between economic factors and the amount of electric vehicle consumption in Thailand. Data analysis based on panel data characteristics, using the Panel Unit Root Test and the Panel Granger Causality Test to answer the battle objectives by using 66 sets of data from January 2017 to June 2022. The results showed that the long-term equilibrium, the most influencing factors of the amount of electric vehicle registrations in Thailand was related prices, followed by product prices and excise tax rates, which had the opposite direction to the vehicle registration volumes. The short-term equilibrium was adjusted in the short term to reach the long-term equilibrium of the model. According to the results of the study, the government sector should provide policy to create tax incentives to reduce the demand for private cars and to balance the impact of excise tax rates on electric vehicles registration volumes and product prices. It should include tax incentives for the purchase of low-emission vehicles or promote alternatives to public transportation.