Motor vehicles are one of the biggest sources of fuel consumption in Thailand, and therefore, strategies to increase fuel efficiency of cars play a major role in the Government’s overall attempt to reduce final energy use.
The importance of cars for the country’s energy strategy becomes especially apparent when looking at the growth figures. Each year, 3 million vehicles are added to Thailand’s roads. At the same time, there is a trend towards larger vehicles with higher fuel consumption such as SUVs, pickups and mini vans. As a result, Thailand becomes increasingly dependent on energy imports and volatile global energy prices.
In fact, research conducted by the International Council of Clean Transport (ICCT) has shown, that the divergence between real-world fuel consumption and laboratory data can be as high as 50% and has risen sharply over the last two decades (in 2001, the divergence was less than 10% in Europe). The same being true for air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
This increasing divergence has important implications. While for an average consumer the gap can translate into higher than expected fuel costs, this also presents challenges to the Government in designing realistic policies and incentive schemes to foster energy efficiency and manage emissions.
To address this data divergence and to support drivers to save fuel, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in cooperation with Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing, has recently launched a digital platform called “Moverity”.
This user-friendly app provides data on real world fuel economy. Users looking to buy new cars can look at the data from the app to compare car models sold in ASEAN markets.
– Carolin Capone, head of sustainable transport projects at GIZ Thailand
The digital tool supports drivers in two ways. On the one hand, it provides an accurate database that enables consumers to compare fuel consumption of different car models when they are looking to purchase a new car. On the other hand, the smartphone application helps drivers to save fuel and money by providing eco-driving tips and by showing how changes in driving behaviour, new tyres or a different kind of fuel affect fuel consumption.
This video summarises why Moverity is important and what it is used for.
Moverity uses a consumer-based crowd-sourcing approach, which means that it gets data from a large number of drivers. Thus, the datasets reflect actual driving conditions in Thailand instead of laboratory test data. Moverity is easy to use and can be accessed through three digital channels: a website, a smartphone application, as well as a Facebook Messenger chatbot. The driver simply types in the amount of fuel filled into the tank when filling up the car, together with the odometer reading. The rest is done by the application. The Moverity App can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Carolin Capone
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