Favourable laws, local brands and perforation of Chinese carmakers will drive Electric Vehicle (EV) deals higher in ASEAN countries including Malaysia, according to a research house.
Maybank Investment Bank said in a note on Thursday that it sees ASEAN companies that are contracting with Chinese car makers for producing and sales and battery value chain companies to gain from the EV rush, backed by ecosystem, a large automotive construction base and robust demand.
According to the research house, Malaysia is planning to cut its fuel allowances, which could lead to demand for EVs.
“The Malaysian government is looking at removal of fuel allowances. Any measure on this will carry the much-needed push for EV acquisition as it will make EV more competitive to gasoline (vehicle) on a total cost of ownership (TCO) basis,” it said, Xinhua news agency reported.
It also noted that in the next two years, Chinese carmakers would have manufacturing capacity of about 750,000 cars annually in Thailand.
On the contrary, it said Japanese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Honda and Suzuki are closing their capacities in Thailand.
“The battery cell glut worldwide should benefit ASEAN making EVs more competitively priced vs petrol,” Maybank said.
According to the research house, ASEAN is observing a pick-up in electric car sales, mainly in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Malaysia announced electric car registrations soar 142 percent year on year to 10,663 fully electric cars in the first half. Indonesia announced an electric car sales sweep 104 percent to 11,943.
Singapore announced a 218 percent jump year on year to 6,019 EVs, already overshadowing its 2023 numbers. Thailand’s fully electric car sales also rose 41.8 percent year on year to 26,377 units from January to April.
