Electric vehicle use best for Laos: study
Electric vehicle use best for Laos: study
Laos is an ideal country to utilise electric vehicles (EVs), as it produces clean electricity from hydropower, a study team from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said last Wednesday.
“As the ‘battery of ASEAN', we want Laos to utilise more EVs than vehicles that use gasoline to reduce emission of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, and lower fuel imports,” JICA study model project planner, Dr Itti Rittaporn Ph.D., said.
He said Lao motorisation had just begun and people might buy more new cars every year, so if the price and conditions met, they would prefer electric passenger cars.
“We would like the Lao government to promote electric vehicle use more aggressively; to follow other countries that have several kinds of incentives such as low import tax for EVs until the price will be more competitive here,” he said.
Dr Rittaporn said the government could increase tax on gasoline if it wanted to promote the use of EVs, while keeping the price of electricity low.
JICA sponsored his team to propose a model project on EV use in the country after studying the feasibility and impact of introducing low-emission transport systems to the Lao PDR.
Ms Watanabe Chika, a consultant from ALMEC Corporation, said her organisation conducted the first phase of the study, composed of basic data collection, from January to October last year.
Assuming 40 percent of vehicles are replaced with EVs, the Lao PDR could save about US$180 million by 2020 on fuel alone, according to the report, a copy of which was received by Vientiane Times.
If 80 percent of vehicles were EVs, the country could save US$938 million by 2030.
According to the report, carbon dioxide emissions would decline by more than two million tonnes by 2030 with the use of electric vehicles.
Laos had a total of 1,288,700 vehicles registered to the Department of Transport last year, including 8,588 tricycles, 1,005,047 motorbikes, 238,073 light four-wheel vehicles and 36,992 trucks.
Pilot test
Dr Rittaporn said his group would conduct a pilot test which would run four EVs – two motorbikes, one three-wheel and one four-wheel vehicle – each in Vientiane and Luang Prabang from October to December this year.
He said they will focus on the financial aspect of EV use, such as determining whether or not a tuk-tuk driver will have a higher income with the use of an EV than with a vehicle that consumes gasoline.
He pointed out that people can charge their EV batteries at home, so no heavy investment on infrastructure is needed and battery swaps can be provided for longer distance trips.
Lao-made EVs
Association for Advanced Education in Asia President, Dr Toshio Iijima, said JICA would work with the National University of Laos' Faculty of Engineering to make EVs locally instead of importing them for the pilot project.
He said the first design, which will be more modern and Lao, will be produced by November this year.
Manufacturing EVs in Laos can start from assembly, Dr Rittaporn said, adding his company, Toyota Tsusho, could support the components.
Dr Iijima said as a way of teaching students about the EVs, the university will host a contest of EV designs in November.
He said sponsorships and contributions to help organise the event would be warmly welcomed.
vientiane times
