NEX Point has acquired Thai EV for THB 149.95 million (US$ 4.5 million), adding EV leasing and after-sales services to its commercial vehicle business.

Thai EV is a Thailand-based commercial electric vehicle provider that describes itself as the country's first commercial EV provider. It offers electric motorcycles, vans, pick-up trucks, trucks and buses, along with AC and DC charging solutions. The company also provides lithium-based batteries, battery management systems (BMS) and EV fleet management platforms for applications including passenger transport, logistics and last-mile delivery. Thai EV imports and distributes electric vehicles, expanding the range of services NEX can offer fleet customers.

NEX said the acquisition will support its commercial EV operations and expansion into the medium and small vehicle segments.

VOLTe Asia Managing Director Dinesh Kanapathy, whose company operates NEX vehicles, told media sources that access to operating leases has allowed VOLTe to expand without an upfront vehicle investment.

"NEX gives me an operating lease. So if you look at it from a TCO perspective, I've got zero capex," he told media sources. VOLTe pays a fixed monthly fee over seven years and has committed to an initial 100 NEX vehicles, with Kanapathy saying the programme could eventually reach 500 vehicles.

Kanapathy said operating leases can facilitate EV adoption for fleet operators that may have difficulty qualifying for conventional vehicle financing. He said these arrangements are more readily available in Thailand than in Indonesia or Malaysia, where fleets remain more reliant on capital expenditure or finance leases.

"Operating lease makes it one of the quick ways to scale up as compared to the rest of the countries in ASEAN," Kanapathy said.

VOLTe's early operating experience has also resulted in lower costs than its combustion-engine operations. Kanapathy said EV operating expenses are currently around 20% lower than those of comparable combustion-engine vehicles, with lower maintenance requirements contributing to the difference. "The actual operating cost is about 20% cheaper versus a combustion engine," he said.

After-sales support remains an area that Kanapathy wants NEX to improve. He said the company has the technical expertise to maintain its vehicles, but its service capacity remains below that of established combustion-engine manufacturers. NEX has identified the expansion of its after-sales network and reductions in vehicle downtime as priorities.

Kanapathy described NEX's maintenance operation as largely reactive and called for greater use of predictive technology to identify when vehicles require attention. He said service capacity will become more important as the number of vehicles in operation grows. "It's not just selling the trucks and then that's it, leave it to your own devices," he said.

According to Kanapathy, NEX can also provide customers with access to charging infrastructure through the wider EA group. He said customers prefer having the vehicle and supporting services available from a single supplier rather than having to arrange charging separately. Customers can then select the services they require as part of the package.

Charging infrastructure continues to constrain commercial EV deployment in Thailand. Kanapathy said suitable public facilities remain limited in major logistics areas, leaving some operators dependent on private charging. "The commercial EV charging space is not there," he said.