According to a report by research firm Counterpoint, sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Southeast Asia increased tenfold year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2023.
"The BEV share of total passenger vehicle sales experienced significant growth in Q1 2023, reaching 3.8% compared to only 0.3% last year," reported Counterpoint's website on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
In Q1 2023, Thailand was recorded as the largest electric vehicle market in Southeast Asia, with a 78.7% share of total BEV sales in the region.
It was followed by Indonesia with an 8% market share of BEV sales in Southeast Asia, and Vietnam with 6.8%.
Then there are Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines with BEV market shares in Southeast Asia of 4.1%, 2.4%, and 0.04%, respectively.
"Thailand's government efforts to promote electric vehicle sales have yielded positive results, while Indonesia and Vietnam also show strong performance in the region," said Counterpoint Research Analyst Abhilash Gupta.
However, according to Gupta, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Myanmar need additional regulatory support and encouragement to boost electric vehicle growth.
"Although overall passenger vehicle sales are relatively stagnant, BEV sales are experiencing significant and rapid expansion," said Gupta.
Based on brand, Gupta continued, Chinese automotive groups dominate the Southeast Asian market.
BYD Automotive was the best-selling brand in Southeast Asia in Q1 2023 with a market share of 51.2%. It was followed by Hozon Auto and SAIC Motor with market shares of 9.6% and 8%, respectively.
"These top three groups collectively control over 68% of the BEV market," said Gupta. He detailed that the Atto 3 from BYD is the best-selling BEV in Southeast Asia, followed by the Neta V and Tesla Model Y.
Counterpoint Senior Analyst Soumen Mandal said that the Chinese presence in the Southeast Asian electric vehicle market will become stronger with the development of their regional manufacturing bases, thus further boosting growth in the electric vehicle sector.
"Overall electric vehicle sales have increased in the Southeast Asian region. The outlook looks promising, and there is an expectation that the BEV share of total vehicle sales will reach 6% by the end of this year," said Mandal.