The Automotive Industry Is Changing

The transition from internal-combustion vehicles to electric vehicles changes much more than the engine.

Electric motors replace combustion systems.

Batteries become one of the vehicle’s most important components.

Electronics and software take on larger roles.

Manufacturing processes need to adapt.

And technicians and engineers need a different combination of skills.

On 3 November 2022, MAHANAKORN hosted the seminar “EV Industry in Thailand and The Next Generation to Come”, bringing together perspectives from education and the automotive industry to discuss how Thailand can prepare people for this transition.

The event formed part of a wider collaboration between MAHANAKORN, Great Wall Motor Manufacturing (Thailand) and Thailand’s Office of the Vocational Education Commission.

Learning from Real Vehicles

One of the most practical parts of the collaboration focused on developing training equipment from real modern vehicles.

The partners worked together to research, design and produce automotive training systems, along with lessons and assessments that could be used by vocational students.

That approach matters because future automotive skills cannot be developed through theory alone.

Students need opportunities to understand how the systems inside an electric vehicle actually connect.

A modern EV can involve:

The vehicle becomes a complete engineering system rather than a collection of separate subjects.

Beyond Cars

The collaboration was not limited to passenger vehicles.

The partners also worked on the development of electric-powered agricultural machinery, extending electric mobility technology into another important area of Thailand’s economy.

This shows how electrification can affect much more than the cars people drive.

Electric power systems, batteries and intelligent control technologies can eventually influence transportation, agriculture, logistics, manufacturing and other industries.

For engineering students, that creates a much wider set of possible applications.

The same knowledge used to understand an electric car may later contribute to industrial machines, autonomous systems or new forms of mobility.

What Happens to the Battery?

The shift toward electric vehicles also creates another engineering challenge:

what happens to batteries after their original use?

At the time of the seminar, MAHANAKORN reported work on a project investigating how older battery systems could be restored and reused in vehicles such as passenger vans, pickup trucks and minibuses.

Battery technology therefore creates questions beyond simply storing enough energy to move a vehicle.

Engineers also need to think about battery performance, lifespan, reuse, efficiency and how energy systems can become more sustainable over time.

Those challenges make the EV industry naturally interdisciplinary.

Engineering for the Next Generation of Mobility

MAHANAKORN has continued developing its capabilities around electric vehicles, motorsport engineering, intelligent control systems, batteries, electric motors and automotive technology.

The important point for students is that automotive engineering is no longer only mechanical.

Future vehicles bring together mechanical design, electronics, electrical power, software, AI, data and advanced manufacturing.

That means the people building the next generation of vehicles will increasingly need to understand how several engineering disciplines work together.

Where Could You Take It Next?

Students interested in electric vehicles, intelligent mobility and future automotive technology can begin building relevant foundations through:

Mechanical Engineering
Develop knowledge in mechanics, engineering design, manufacturing and physical systems that form the foundation of automotive and mobility technologies.

Explore Mechanical Engineering →

Communication & Electronics Engineering
Build foundations in electronics, control and communication technologies increasingly used across electric vehicles and intelligent automotive systems.

Explore Communication & Electronics Engineering →

Computer & AI Engineering
Develop skills in computing, artificial intelligence and data for increasingly connected, automated and intelligent vehicles.

Explore Computer & AI Engineering →

Process & Industrial Engineering
Explore manufacturing systems, process improvement and industrial technologies relevant to the changing automotive production environment.

Explore Process & Industrial Engineering →

The vehicle of the future is not built by mechanical engineering alone. It is where mechanics, electronics, energy and intelligence come together.