LINE MAN Wongnai is stepping up its electric vehicle push in Thailand’s ride-hailing market, using a rental model to bring more drivers onto its LINE MAN RIDE platform and piloting a new “Comfort” service for passengers seeking larger electric cars.
The company said it aims to have more than 3,000 EV driver-partners on LINE MAN RIDE by the end of 2026. The plan centres on reducing drivers’ upfront costs through full-time rentals, minimum income guarantees for eligible drivers, help with public driving licence applications, and a pathway to car ownership after a six-year lease period.
Also Read: Food delivery’s old consolidation model is cracking in East Asia
LINE MAN RIDE said EVs on its platform have cut drivers’ fuel costs by more than 60 per cent, or approximately US$190 a month per vehicle. It also claimed net income for EV drivers is more than 30 per cent higher than that of conventional taxi drivers.
The numbers are crucial because driver economics remain one of ride-hailing’s most difficult structural problems. Platforms in Southeast Asia have spent years trying to balance passenger affordability, driver supply, incentives, commissions and regulatory pressure. In markets such as Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, the cost of fuel, vehicle financing and platform take rates can determine whether ride-hailing is a viable full-time job or merely supplementary income.
Yod Chinsupakul, CEO of LINE MAN Wongnai, said the company’s long-term ride-hailing strategy depends on building a driver base that can earn sustainably.
“An important structural factor of the long-term ride-hailing business is having a network of quality drivers who can make a sustainable career on the platform,” he said. “Net income has increased significantly, while passengers receive more quality services at the same time.”
EVs move from subsidy story to platform economics
Thailand is a logical market for such an experiment. The country has become the region’s most active EV market, supported by state incentives, an established automotive manufacturing base, and aggressive expansion by Chinese EV brands. According to the International Energy Agency, electric car sales in Southeast Asia almost quadrupled in 2023, with Thailand accounting for the bulk of regional volume.
That growth has made EVs more visible in consumer transport, but converting private adoption into ride-hailing fleets is a different proposition. Fleet vehicles clock far higher mileage, require predictable charging access, and depend heavily on daily utilisation. LINE MAN RIDE said EVs on its platform average more than 5,000 kilometres a month per vehicle, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 0.75 tonnes per vehicle each month.
Also Read: Driving change: How women are redefining ride-hailing
The company’s rental model is designed to address one of the main barriers for drivers: vehicle access. Rather than requiring drivers to buy an EV outright, LINE MAN RIDE is working with electric vehicle partners to offer rentals and lower the cost of entering the profession. This may attract drivers who do not own cars, but it also shifts the burden to utilisation. Drivers need enough bookings to cover rental obligations and justify full-time commitment.
That is where LINE MAN RIDE’s new Comfort feature comes in.
Comfort tests demand for larger EVs
The Comfort service lets passengers book larger EVs with more spacious interiors and more comfortable seating. LINE MAN RIDE is piloting the service in selected areas of Bangkok and surrounding provinces before deciding how far to expand it.
The company said repeat usage has risen during the pilot and expects EV ride-hailing volume to grow more than tenfold by the end of 2026 compared with its initial trial period. It did not disclose the number of current EV drivers, ride volumes, pricing structure for Comfort, or the size of the pilot fleet.
The product suggests LINE MAN RIDE is trying to create demand at the same time as it expands supply. That is critical in ride-hailing: adding vehicles without passenger demand lowers driver earnings, while creating demand without enough drivers worsens wait times and service reliability.
Bangkok also presents a particular opportunity. The city has dense commuter corridors, high private car usage, worsening congestion, and a consumer base familiar with app-based mobility. However, it also has fragmented transport regulation and a competitive ride-hailing environment, with Grab remaining the dominant regional player and other operators such as Bolt, inDrive and local taxi apps competing on price and availability.
Across Southeast Asia, mobility platforms are increasingly under pressure to show more disciplined economics. Google, Temasek and Bain have estimated that the region’s online transport and food delivery sector will continue to grow, but investors now expect platforms to focus less on subsidised expansion and more on profitable, defensible use cases. EV fleets fit that narrative if lower running costs can offset financing, charging and maintenance constraints.
Driver behaviour will be as important as vehicle supply
LINE MAN RIDE is also leaning on coaching and operational support. Driver-partner Udom Somboon, who has driven EVs on the platform since its early stage, said income improvement came not just from lower vehicle costs but from better route and time planning.
“In the beginning, I drove from early morning to late at night,” he said. “After learning from the LINE MAN RIDE driver coach and understanding passenger behaviour in each area and period, I switched to running more strategically.”
He cited morning demand around Silom and Chulalongkorn University, where office workers, medical staff and students create predictable booking patterns.
That comment points to a wider truth about ride-hailing: technology alone rarely fixes marketplace economics. Driver training, location strategy, peak-hour allocation, regulatory compliance and vehicle uptime all shape earnings.
LINE MAN RIDE said it encourages drivers to obtain public driving licences in line with Ministry of Transport guidelines. It also offers real-time trip tracking, driver background checks, insurance, anonymous ratings, QR payment and chat stickers for driver-passenger communication. Its app is certified by Thailand’s Department of Land Transport.
Also Read: Inside Thailand’s EV and battery push: Balancing growth with sustainability
The company’s EV push will now be judged on whether it can move beyond a controlled pilot. Scaling to 3,000 EV drivers would give LINE MAN RIDE a more visible position in Thailand’s mobility market, but it will also expose the company to the same pressures faced by larger rivals: uneven demand, driver churn, charging bottlenecks and pricing sensitivity.
For Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing sector, the experiment is worth watching. If LINE MAN RIDE can prove that EV rentals improve driver income without relying heavily on subsidies, it could offer a template for other urban markets. If utilisation falls short, the model risks becoming another capital-heavy attempt to solve a labour and logistics problem with fleet expansion.
The post LINE MAN RIDE targets 3,000 EV drivers as Thailand’s ride-hailing economics shift appeared first on e27.