Thailand's road transport industry will test electric trucks to see if they can replace its fleet of 400,000 diesel trucks.
If the tests are positive and the polluting diesel trucks are replaced by electric vehicles, this will also be good news for all motorcyclists in the country.
The president of the Land Transport Association of Thailand, Apichart Prairungruang, said the plan to switch from diesel to electric trucks came about after the government put in place support measures for EVs.
See : Thailand supports electric vehicles
He said the association would test electric trucks for safety to address concerns about possible battery explosions.
It will also compare the capacity of electric and diesel trucks, as the new EVs will be used for long-distance journeys of 300 to 500 kilometres, he added.
The tests will cover maintenance, after-sales service and whether the roads have enough charging stations to keep electric trucks on the road.
It should take no more than one hour and 30 minutes to fully charge an electric truck, Apichart added.
However, he is concerned about the shorter battery life of electric trucks, which is about six years, compared to seven to ten years for diesel vehicles.
He said the batteries also made electric trucks more expensive, at about 5-6 million baht per unit compared to only 2.8 million for a diesel truck.
However, he pointed out that electric trucks are cheaper to operate in the long term.
Mr Apichart said the association would decide whether to switch to electric trucks after the tests, which are due to be completed in April.
The association, which includes companies operating about 400,000 trucks, is interested in EVs to reduce transport costs and protect the environment, he said.
See also :
Thailand prepares a promising future for electric vehicles
51 electric motorbike taxis being tested in Thailand
Thailand Post to use electric motorbikes for delivery to reduce pollution
Source: The Nation Thailand
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