BMW Group Thailand – led by Mr. Stefan Teuchert (4th right), President – is providing King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi – led by Associate Professor Dr. Sakarindr Bhumiratana (4th left), President – with access to BMW electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to lend support to the Charge & Share initiative under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to study the prospects of electric vehicles (EV) and car sharing programs in Thailand.

From left to right
1. Associate Professor Dr. Bundit Fungtammasan, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, JGSEE
Energy Policy Researcher
2. Khun Krit Vichaiwatanapanich, CEO and Co-founder, Haupcar
3. Mr. Marc Pelletier, Country President Thailand and Laos, Schneider Electric Thailand
4. Associate Professor Dr. Sakarindr Bhumiratana, President, King Mongkut’s University of Technology
Thonburi (KMUTT)
5. Mr. Stefan Teuchert, President, BMW Group Thailand
6. Dr. Yossapong Laoonual, Chairman, Automotive Research Cluster Working Group,
KMUTT
7. Khun Krisda Utamote, Director of Corporate Communications, BMW Group Thailand
8. Khun Songdej Yensap, Managing Director, SOLAR IT Consultant

Bangkok. BMW Group Thailand has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) to study the prospects of electric vehicles (EV) and car sharing programs in Thailand under the “Electric Vehicle Charging and Car Sharing Zones” or “Charge & Share” initiative. Through this MOU, BMW Group Thailand is providing KMUTT with access to the BMW i3, a fully emission-free electric vehicle, as well as plug-in hybrid vehicles in the BMW 330e and BMW X5 xDrive40e.

Mr. Stefan Teuchert, President, BMW Group Thailand said, “One of BMW’s missions is to create premium, eco-friendly mobility with our state-of-the-art innovations and design for the future of sustainability. Our success is reflected through our range of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. To build on that success, we have been collaborating with the public sector and business partners to support EV-related development efforts and to provide charging station services in Thailand. We are very pleased to be able to partner with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi on the Charge & Share initiative, and we strongly believe that this project will significantly drive Thailand towards sustainable future.”

Dr. Yossapong Laoonual, Chairman, Automotive Research Cluster Working Group, KMUTT said, “Charge & Share is a 2-year initiative under Lo-Ve, or Center of Low Carbon Vehicle, led by Automotive Research Cluster Working Group, KMUTT. Our goal is to support EV deployment in the university, encourage commute via car sharing, and conduct research on public transit behavior in Thailand”.

Dr. Vasin Kiattikomol, Leader of Charge & Share project said, “Under this initiative, KMUTT has set up EV car stations to offer car sharing services in the university. Under our collaboration with BMW Group Thailand, KMUTT will receive the BMW i3 all-electric vehicle for our use, which will enable us to record EV car drivers’ behavior as well as public behavior in Car Sharing and EV Car Sharing systems. This is a part of our study and analysis of future EV car utilization in Thailand. Additionally, Haupcar* has partnered with us to assist on Car Sharing management system”.

BMW i3 is a pure-electric vehicle that represents the dawn of electric mobility in Thailand. The all-electric car is powered by eDrive power train technology under the umbrella of BMW EfficientDynamics which perfectly combine zero tailpipe emissions with premium-class driving pleasure. BMW i3 was chosen for World Green Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year awards in 2014.

BMW X5 xDrive40e and BMW 330e are plug-in hybrid vehicles that capably harness the potential of an electric motor setup to reduce fuel consumption and enable zero-emission urban driving. Both cars come equipped with battery that can be topped up via household power outlets. BMW X5 xDrive40e can be fully recharged at home in approximately three hours and 50 minutes with an fuel consumption rate of 31.3 km/l along with CO2 emission level at only 76 g/km while BMW 330e can be fully recharged in approximately three hours with an excellent fuel consumption rate of 41.7 km/l and has the CO2 emission level at only 57 g/km.

*About Haupcar

With rapidly urbanized areas, traffic congestion, disconnected transportation modes, Haupcar as the first mover of car-sharing enters Thailand with a promise to drive the development of sustainable mobility for better urban-living quality. Haupcar is driven to encourage efficient utilization of automobiles, and help reduce negative impacts of mobility industry to the cities. Forefront technology and service-mobility platform are the key areas of development by team of engineers and designers to ensure our goals in the coming years.

Haupcar joins KMUTT’s charge and share research project as a provider of service-mobilityplatform to serve the users of shared vehicles."

The BMW Group

With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

BMW Group Thailand

BMW Group Thailand, a subsidiary of BMW AG, Germany, was established on the 3rd October 1998. The three entities of BMW Group Thailand include BMW (Thailand) Co., Ltd. with responsibility for wholesales & marketing of BMW Group products, BMW Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. with responsibility for BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad local production, and BMW Leasing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. with responsibility for financial services offerings to both wholesale and retail customers.

In 2015, BMW Group Thailand continued its record of success in the country after posting its best year yet in sales. Throughout 2015, the Group’s three marques managed to exceed 10,000 units in total sales with BMW and MINI moving 8,768 cars – up 5% year-on-year – and BMW Motorrad scoring an impressive 83% jump to 1,280 motorcycles sold. The combined total of 10,048 vehicles delivered represents the highest sales figure yet in the history of BMW Group Thailand, as well as record breaking achievement for each brand, BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad individually.

The BMW Group Manufacturing Thailand plant was founded on BMW Group’s strong belief in the growth potential of Asian markets and Thailand in particular, with its unique location, strong manufacturing base, and ready supply of skilled automotive labor, being an automotive hub for ASEAN. In 2016, another 488 million Thai Baht investment is going into further expansion of plant Rayong in terms of assembling processes, aiming to meet growing customer demand and building on an investment of over 3.7 billion Baht year-to-date 2015. In addition, with approximately 4 billion Thai Baht representing the amount of annual purchasing in Thailand, the BMW Global Purchasing office will be established in Thailand. This is to source various components from local suppliers in Thailand and the broader ASEAN region, in order to supply the entire BMW production network of 31 production and assembly facilities, located in 14 countries worldwide.

Since 2012, BMW Group Thailand together with the founding partner companies brought the dual vocation concept to Thailand in cooperation with the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC) and the German International Co-operation (GIZ). The collaborative program, known as the German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE), is an educational platform for the BMW Service Apprentice program, which provides all participating students with fundamental training at the college, BMW theory and practical training at the BMW Training Center, and on-the-job training and support from BMW certified technicians at authorized BMW dealerships. Since its inception, the partnership has helped develop young students and enabled them to become skilled workers in the automotive industry, while also reinforcing Thailand’s potential to serve as a global automotive production hub.

For further information, please contact:

BMW Group Thailand 

1-800-269-269
www.bmw.co.th
www.mini.co.th
www.bmw-motorrad.co.th

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