The Global Future of Mobility Conference was successfully held in Thailand to explore a new model for green and smart mobility

On May 13, 2026, the main forum of the Global Future Mobility Conference (GFM2026), co-sponsored by the Thailand Investment Promotion Committee (Boi), China EV100, and the Global Partnership for New and New Energy Vehicles (GREEM), was held in Thailand. With the theme of "Towards Intelligent and Green Mobility", this forum brought together government personnel, industry representatives and corporate executives to discuss key issues such as the trend of electrification and intelligent transformation of the global automotive industry, Thailand's competitive advantage as a regional manufacturing center, supply chain resilience restructuring, and green energy development, which formed the basis for promoting the new energy transformation of the regional and global automotive industry. At the meeting, Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary General of the Investment Promotion Committee of Thailand, delivered a keynote speech on accelerating smart and green policies, systematically expounding Thailand's policy direction and strategic thinking towards the leading regional center for the next generation of automobiles. He pointed out that the automotive industry is undergoing a profound transformation towards clean, intelligent and interconnected development, and that Thailand, relying on its strong automotive industry base, is accelerating the transition (parameter | inquiry) to a new era of sustainable mobility. Green mobility is not only an environmental requirement to cope with climate change, but has also become a strategic issue to ensure national energy security and enhance economic resilience. The combination of transportation electrification and clean energy will greatly enhance Thailand's ability to resist risks. Thailand will combine the fuel vehicle supply chain system to achieve a smooth upgrade, and build a bridge to electrification by supporting a full range of xEV technologies including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), pure electric vehicles (Bev), and fuel cells. In order to accelerate this process, Thailand's National Electric Vehicle Policy Board (EV Board) has launched a comprehensive policy covering the entire supply chain. On the supply side, it provides incentives to support the production of complete vehicles and key parts, the construction of battery and power exchange stations, and software development. On the demand side, it relies on EV3.0 and EV3.5 policies to promote market popularity through subsidies, tax deductions, and other means. It also provides additional incentives based on emission reduction standards for transition technologies such as hybrid power, leading the industry to the future. Subsequently, Zhang Yongwei, chairman of the Che Baihui Research Institute, gave a speech on the new situation of the international development of the automobile industry and the new path of cooperation. He believes that global automotive electrification has entered a new acceleration cycle, and it is expected that the global penetration rate of new energy vehicles will exceed 45% by 2030, and the annual sales volume will reach 45 million units. This acceleration is mainly due to the synergy of energy transformation, the attractiveness of cross-border new technologies, the breakthrough of battery technology, and the synergistic driving effect of new energy vehicles on the energy network. Globalization is the only way for the development of the automotive industry. He proposed six ways to deepen global cooperation: first, deepen the integration of automotive electrification and energy greening; second, strengthen the global cooperation and sharing of electrification, intelligence and related technologies; third, carry out innovative cooperation in production and manufacturing to help enterprises quickly achieve production capacity and local production; fourth, focus on the global synergy between upstream material resources and the core chip supply chain; fifth, promote the global unification and mutual recognition of intelligent driving, carbon footprint accounting and testing standards systems; sixth, establish a unified global battery recycling standard and information platform, and jointly build a resource recycling system. At the roundtable discussion, Suroj Sangsnit, President of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, Ke Yubin, General Manager of BYD Thailand, Christian Swahn, Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management of Otto Reef, Joseph Ngo Hong, Executive Director of Bosch Group Thailand, Li Liang, Vice President of Future Ecological Cooperation of Optoelectronics, and Shimaya Cedar, an expert on biofuels at Isuzu Mitsui, discussed core issues such as technology evolution, supply chain competitiveness restructuring and green energy synergy. Topic 1: Technology evolution and industrial upgrading in Thailand When discussing the technology trend of the Thai automotive industry in the next three to five years, the participants agreed that the core of the industry is accelerating from traditional machinery manufacturing to an ecosystem driven by software, energy and data. Suroj Sangsnit pointed out that the automotive industry is no longer just a manufacturing industry. In the future, the core of competition will shift to battery technology, smart charging, intelligent driving and software-defined vehicles. The industry competition will shift from sales to the ecosystem. Thailand must transform from a purely production base to a regional center for electric vehicle technology, component testing, standard setting and talent reserve. Combined with Thailand's high external dependence on energy, Ke Yubin proposed that PHEVs with both fuel and electrification attributes will usher in great opportunities in the next few years due to their limited infrastructure. Combined with flash charging technology for energy storage, they will enhance the electrification travel experience. In the future, with the acceleration of electrification, the industry will quickly enter the intelligent stage with intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit and related services as the core. Li Liang believes that Thailand can use the opportunity of electrification to achieve industrial chain upgrading. He added from the perspective of commercial vehicles, AI technology will promote the evolution of autonomous driving to L4/L5. After the realization of autonomous driving, the car will be transformed into a more efficient means of production; and the breakthrough of battery capacity and high-voltage fast charging will be superimposed with autonomous driving to form a new business model. Joseph Ngo Hong stressed that electrification and intelligence are irreversible acceleration processes, and that electrification will accelerate in the next three to five years, while software-defined vehicles are reshaping the whole vehicle. Thailand needs to identify new technologies and system positioning in the global supply chain, and adopt an open model to jointly promote industrial development. Christian Swahn said that once electric vehicles and self-driving technology reach the commercial breakthrough point, they will greatly change the way humans use cars. This is a tremendous growth opportunity for supplier bases in Thailand and China, which can also join Ottoliv in globalizing the NEV supply chain. Starting from the diversified technical route, Shimaya Cedar emphasizes that although case (interconnection, autonomy, sharing, electrification) is an inevitable trend, it is also an indispensable evolutionary path to maintain the prosperity of the existing internal combustion engine supply chain, especially the pickup market, and realize decarbonization through biofuels in the next 10 to 15 years. Issue 2: The differentiated advantages and localized supply chains of Thailand's regional competitiveness When evaluating the competitive advantages of Thailand as a regional production center compared to neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and India, the guests made an objective evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of Thailand's supply chain system. Suroj Sangsnit admits that as the most attractive automotive production center in the region, Thailand's core strength lies in its 50 years of experience in manufacturing internal combustion engines, complete parts kits and markets open to all brands. However, at present, there is a lack of software localization support for assisted driving and autonomous driving. The new energy vehicle industry chain has not yet established a model suitable for Thai localization. It requires industry collaboration to jointly support the development of the industry chain. Ko Yubin believes that Thailand has the advantages of location as an ASEAN hub, high-quality supply chain and friendly "30 @ 30" policy, on the basis of which BYD quickly achieved a localization rate of nearly 50%. He suggested that Thailand give PHEVs more policy leanings to better connect the local large fuel vehicle supply chain. Shimaya Cedar also pointed out that Thailand has advantages based on policy and supply chain, forming a huge network of first-, second- and third-tier parts suppliers, and its pickup localization rate is as high as 90%. In the future, it will be necessary to synchronously maximize the use of fuel vehicle supply systems through clean energy and bioeconomy. Topic 3: Thailand's competitiveness and supply chain resilience in the geopolitical landscape Faced with an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape and trade uncertainty, the participants discussed how to build a more resilient supply system through diversified layout and strategic management. Christian Swahn sees the geopolitical situation as both a challenge and an opportunity. He proposed that by bringing the excellent supply base of his home country to different parts of the world, he could not only enhance the flexibility of global supply, but also build a more competitive localized chain in the process, pushing Thailand to become a stronger automobile industry country. Joseph Ngo Hong believes that in the current geopolitical crisis, companies are building supply chain robustness through multi-source procurement. Although there is a need to find a balance between cost efficiency and resilience, regional procurement strategies will bring more opportunities for foreign investment and supply base construction in Thailand. Li Liang deeply analyzed the deep causes of the supply chain crisis, including geopolitics, the concentration of core resources, and the squeeze of chip capacity caused by AI. He pointed out that car companies are improving resilience through the "China + N" overseas layout, vertical integration of battery supply chain, and the establishment of strategic inventory. Thailand can undertake the industrial chain to spill over into the construction industry system. Joseph Ngo Hong pointed out that cost is no longer the only criterion for investment, investors are increasingly valuing reliability, quality, ability to scale and ability to adapt to rapid change, and the real attraction comes from co-investment, continuous innovation and maintaining suppliers. In addition, he stressed that international investors are concerned about political stability and policy orientation, and supply chain companies often follow their vehicle companies to determine the layout of globalization. Christian Swahn believes that global investors place a high value on each other's successful experience and track record in other markets or previous businesses when looking for partners. Thailand's greatest attraction lies in its industrial base, as well as its experience in automotive manufacturing. It is necessary to maintain stability, agility, and seize development opportunities. Issue 4: Thailand's green energy strategy and the transformation of energy replenishment infrastructure As the greener and smarter electric vehicle manufacturing industry continues to grow, the guests discussed Thailand's renewable energy strategy and the biggest energy challenge to support the growth of electric vehicles in Thailand. Suroj Sangsnit said that with the surge in the number of new energy vehicle registrations, the pile ratio in Thailand has dropped from 25: 1 last year to 45: 1 this year, and the energy replenishment pressure is high. The approval time for charging piles in Thailand is long, and the pile ratio is low. Although the total amount of electricity is abundant, the grid still faces a serious risk of centralized charging overload due to the lack of smart grid management and the widespread application of time-of-use tariffs. In addition, Thailand's fossil-fuel-based power generation structure is not green enough, which requires grid upgrades and clean energy imports. Ke Yubin analyzed that with the rapid growth of new energy vehicle sales, a huge stock market will be formed, which will further increase the burden on the power grid. He suggested that by combining the high-power charging station technology of "optical storage and charging integration", power peak filling can be achieved, the burden on the grid can be reduced, and charging facilities can be popularized faster. Li Liang pointed out from the analysis of the macro energy structure that Thailand currently relies on natural gas for about 68% of power generation, and the cost of electricity is as high as $0.28, which weakens the cost advantage of electric vehicles. He proposed a green power development path, including reducing dependence on natural gas, vigorously supporting photovoltaic, energy storage and biomass energy, and establishing a green power trading and reward mechanism to build Thailand into a "green manufacturing center in Southeast Asia". Based on export standards and economic reality, Shimaya Cedar pointed out that the future export capacity of automobiles will be subject to the carbon footprint of Category III. During the transition period from fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles, the widespread promotion of biofuels is the optimal solution that takes into account the goal of carbon neutrality, protects the grassroots agricultural economy and safeguards national energy security. Finally, in the outlook for the next 10 to 15 years, the participants proposed a deep integration of globalization, intelligence and green manufacturing for Thailand. Suroj Sangsnit calls for guiding technology owners to conduct business docking and transfer of core technologies in Thailand; Ke Yubin believes that automobiles will become a smart space that integrates entertainment, AI and lifestyle, and will promote the rooting of the entire industry chain including chips, cameras, software and AI in Thailand; Li Liang recommends that Thailand be established as a "green manufacturing center in Southeast Asia" by reshaping the power system with green power as the core; Joseph Ngo Hong stressed that Thailand must find its positioning in the intelligent and electronic links of the value chain and be deeply integrated into the global supply chain network. Christian Swahn recommended providing greater security for enterprises to invest in innovation and ensuring technological continuity for industrial transformation. Shimaya Cedar reiterated that maximizing the use of the fuel vehicle supply chain combined with the circular economy and biofuels is a pragmatic way to protect Thailand's steady economic growth and achieve carbon neutrality. The successful convening of the Global Future of Mobility Conference not only clearly depicts the development blueprint of the global automotive industry's electrification and intelligence, but also deeply analyzes Thailand's strategic opportunities and challenges in the reshaping of the global supply chain. Driven by the in-depth dialogue of the main forum and the subsequent global procurement matchmaking meeting, China, Thailand and the global industry are working together to create a greener, smarter and more sustainable mobility future with more pragmatic and closer cooperation.