The Thai government is looking to revise the rules for subsidy payments to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, as it seeks to clarify the conditions for suspending payments to firms unable to meet local production requirements.

The Ministry of Finance will ask the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee to revise the conditions in light of recent developments involving Neta Auto Thailand, Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul said on Tuesday.

Neta, which has been facing liquidity problems, held discussions with the Excise Department last week about the suspension of subsidy payments, which are up to 150,000 baht per vehicle.

EV manufacturers offer the discount directly to consumers and then claim reimbursement from the government.

Mr Paopoom said that buyers who have already purchased EVs under the subsidy programme will not be affected by any changes.

Under the government’s EV 3.0 policy, manufacturers are required to produce EVs locally this year at a ratio of 1.5 units for every 1 unit imported. Based on this condition, Neta must produce 19,000 EVs domestically this year, but so far it has produced only 4,000.

Mr Paopoom said the government has already paid more than 2 billion baht in subsidies to Neta under the programme.

After Neta encountered liquidity problems and failed to meet its production targets, the Excise Department suspended an additional 400 million baht in subsidy payments to the company.

The finance ministry has proposed a rule change that would require EV manufacturers to submit a compensatory production plan every two months. If they fail to follow the plan, the government reserves the right to suspend subsidy payments, Mr Paopoom said. 

The suspension can only be enforced after the end of the specified period. For example, under the current policy, manufacturers must complete compensatory production of 1.5 times the number of imported vehicles by the end of December 2025.

This means that if any manufacturers are unlikely to meet this year’s production target, no action can be taken until the scheme ends in December, the minister said.

The recent decision by the Excise Department to suspend a 400-million-baht payment to Neta was based on its internal procedures, he said.

These procedures need to be formalised and clarified to prepare for similar situations in the future, he added.