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What’s in the Mainstream?

It is anticipated that in the next five years the automobile
industry will undergo a profound transformation in
production with manufacturers and consumers significantly
different to the market as it is now.

We are already much closer to such a future. An interesting
point from a report by the Goldman Sacks Group Inc., a
leader in global investment banking, notes that concerns
about greenhouse gases and pollution are driving an
industry-wide change in the way cars are powered.
Regulations on fuel economy and CO emissions are
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forcing carmakers to make engines more efficient.

By 2025, 25% of cars sold will have electric engines, up
from 5% this year. But most of those will be hybrids, and
95% of cars will still rely on fossil fuels for at least a part
of their power. That means automakers will need to make
internal combustion engines more efficient to comply with
new standards.

The development of alternative power sources such as
fuel cells will add to overall efficiency but only if people can
afford them. The Japanese government has set a target
price of ¥ 2.2 million (USD 18,000) for fuel-cell vehicles
by 2025. While that would still account for a small niche in
global sales, this target price allows them to be competitive
with popular hybrids.

What’s up in the Thai Market
To Be More Realistic
With an electrification strategy gaining momentum, PTT
acknowledges electricity as one of the solutions with Advances in battery technology is the core to further drive
the potential to provide answers to mobility addressing the adoption of electric vehicles. The current performance
concerns over global warming. PTT currently has of batteries is adequate for most applications: however,
four EV charging stations which can serve three EVs the main challenge rests in lowering the cost. The cost of
simultaneously with the following charge types: a DC Quick a kilowatt of lithium-ion storage has dropped from about
Charge achieved in 30 minutes, an AC Normal Charge in USD 1,000 in 2008 to around USD 200. There are
three hours and a Normal Charge in eight hours. numerous advanced technologies that promise prices
of USD100 and less in the years ahead. The scale-up of
To cope with the rise of the EV market in the near future, global battery capacity will require very large investments
Thailand’s PTT is accelerating negotiations with European (in the tens of billions of dollars) and this is only just the
and Japanese carmakers to construct 20 more charging beginning.
stations for electric cars in 2017. Got a question ? Please scan QR code on page 61

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