COMMENT | Southeast Asia’s charge to electric vehicles

COMMENT | Who’s leading the race to develop electric vehicles in Southeast Asia? The answer is complicated.

Southeast Asia is racing to increase the demand and production of electric vehicles.

With road vehicles responsible for 89 percent of transport-related pollution in the region, EVs are not only seen as part of the solution to reducing carbon emissions but also a way to drive new investments leading to more jobs, stronger economic development, and technological advances.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are leading the charge.

But it’s a long road. EV market penetration is still low. EV sales were just 2.1 percent of total vehicle sales in Southeast Asia in 2022, compared to 2.3 percent in India and 29 percent in China.

The slow development of charging infrastructure...