BANGKOK (Reuters) – Electric vehicle sales are surging in Southeast Asia, led by China’s BYD and Vietnam’s VinFast, eating into the internal combustion engine car market dominated by Japanese and Korean firms, Counterpoint Research said on Friday.
EV sales in the region more than doubled in the January to March quarter from a year before, according to the research firm. Sales of ICE cars, meanwhile, slid by 7%.
Counterpoint analyst Abhik Mukherjee noted that Chinese OEMs are seizing opportunities in Southeast Asia’s EV market. Japanese and Korean automakers, dominant in traditional vehicle sales, are trailing in EV adoption.
He noted that Chinese brands, led by BYD, account for over 70% of EV sales in Southeast Asia. Last year, Chinese car makers captured 75% of the EV market share in the region.
Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second largest economy where Chinese car makers have committed more than $1.44 billion to set up new EV production facilities, is leading the charge.
The regional auto manufacturing hub where Japan’s Toyota Motor and Honda Motor have a major presence accounted for 55% of all Southeast Asia’s EV sales in the first quarter, with the segment growing 44% compared to last year.
“Vietnam saw an even more impressive growth, with BEV (battery electric vehicle) sales increasing by more than 400%, contributing to nearly 17% of regional sales,” the research firm said.
Across the region, China’s top-selling EV maker BYD maintained pole position, cornering 47% of the regional market leader, followed by Vietnam’s VinFast.
BYD has had early success in Southeast Asia, which is still a small EV market compared to other regions, on the back of distribution partnerships with large local conglomerates.
read more
image source
