Managing Director of EV Lao, Mr Anchalit Burananit, said on Friday that last year, the company in cooperation with EDL installed seven charging stations aiming to increase the domestic take-up of EVs.

Mr Anchalit pointed out that further charging stations could be installed at public and private locations in the capital and on routes to Vientiane and Savannakhet provinces.

In August, the company conducted a pilot project to compare the operating costs between EVs and those running on fossil fuels.

The project used a Nissan Leaf to operate around Vientiane for 16 days, driving a total of 680 km. The experiment showed that the EV consumed 135.7 kWh, costing only 150,000 kip (1,101 kip/kWh). However, over 680 km, an ordinary car would consume at least 500,000 kip of fuel.

Mr Anchalit noted that while there was currently tremendous potential to expand the EV market in Laos, they were waiting for further Lao government policy direction.

Nevertheless, EV Lao plans to provide further incentives for customers in cooperation with Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public (BCEL) with the implementation of a charging card or Jumbo Card.  

The local development of EV systems took a step forward last year when the Ministry of Energy and Mines approved the pilot project for charging stations.

The ministry is working with the private sector on the project as part of efforts to promote the use of EVs in Laos and support the government’s move to minimise the use of fossil fuels.

Laos is promoting the use of clean energy in the transport sector as part of measures to translate the government’s policy into an action plan until 2025, a strategy for 2030, and a vision for 2050 for supplying energy to the sector.