BoI won’t ease criteria for eco-car perks

The Board of Investment will not change its criteria for privileges to promote the local manufacture of eco-cars despite calls from automakers for the conditions to be eased, says Arthit Vuthikaro, chief of the Industry Ministry’s Office of Industrial Economics. Many automakers whose eco-car projects have already been approved for BoI privileges have now said they will unlikely be able to achieve the output target of 100,000 eco-cars by the fifth year of production. The promotion was first announced in 2007 before the global financial crisis caused the auto market to crash.