Chinese EV imports surge in Thailand ahead of planned excise tax
Thailand’s EV imports jumped 138% in September to US$421 million, almost all from China, ahead of a proposed 30% excise tax on fully imported EVs to boost local production.
BANGKOK – Thailand’s imports of electric passenger cars more than doubled in September, almost entirely driven by China, as booming demand and the prospect of higher taxes on fully imported EVs lifted shipments.
Imports surged 138% from a year earlier to US$421 million (S$539.6 million), with China supplying almost 99% of the total, government data showed. The value was also 86% higher than in August. In the first nine months of 2026, Thailand imported US$2.37 billion of electric passenger cars, 96% of them from China.
The surge highlights the challenge Thailand is trying to address with higher taxes on imported EVs. After decades building South-east Asia’s biggest auto-manufacturing hub, the government wants booming electric-car demand to translate into local production and jobs, rather than a growing dependence on vehicles shipped from China.
Thailand is now considering an excise tax of around 30% on fully imported EVs as part of a new structure designed to favour domestic manufacturing. Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas has said the government is working with automakers to finalise the rate.
A three-tier structure approved in principle by Thailand’s EV policy board in September would impose the highest excise tax on fully imported vehicles, a lower rate on cars assembled locally with imported components and the lowest on EVs with greater domestic production and content.
The prospect of higher taxes may already be pulling some imports forward. Nantapong Chiralerspong, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said September’s surge reflected both strong demand and the expansion of Chinese EV brands, with anticipation of the proposed tax potentially accelerating shipments.
The surge comes alongside rapid growth in the domestic EV market. Sales of battery-electric passenger cars jumped 80% from a year earlier to 16,404 in September and nearly doubled to 161,532 in the first nine months, according to the Federation of Thai Industries.
The industry expects that momentum to continue. New EV registrations are forecast to reach 200,000 to 220,000 in 2026, up from about 120,000 in 2025, according to Surapong Paisitpatnapong, an adviser to the Federation of Thai Industries chairman and spokesman for its Automotive Industry Club. Registrations had already reached 165,040 through September. BLOOMBERG
Source: The Straits Times https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/chinese-ev-imports-surge-in-thailand-ahead-of-planned-excise-tax
