Electric vehicle (EV) sales are accelerating in Southeast Asia as energy crisis continues, Maybank Investment Bank said on Thursday.
The research house said in a note that as a safeguard for uncertainty amid the Middle East crisis and energy security, it believed battery EV (BEV) sales will remain buoyant, driven by government support, favorable regulations and the narrowing internal combustion engine (ICE)-EV price gap in favor of Chinese EV makers.
According to the note, BEV sales surged across ASEAN-6 markets in the first half clocking 72 percent to 257 percent year on year rises, forming 6 percent to 62 percent of first half car sales.
The research house believes Chinese companies generate more than 50 percent of the sales followed by Vietnam’s VinFast (VFS US, CP USD3.13, not rated) at 33 percent.
Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore are ahead of Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines in terms of sales penetration.
According to the research house, BEV formed 21 percent of car sales in ASEAN-6 countries in the first half of 2026 versus 12 percent a year ago.
Singapore, the smallest and highly restricted car sales market, posted 62 percent BEV market share. Vietnam, driven by the local brand VinFast, had 35 percent share.
Malaysia was the smallest in terms of BEV share at 6 percent. Indonesia and Thailand ranged from 22 percent to 30 percent BEV sales penetration with the Philippines at 10 percent.
Ex-Vietnam, Chinese companies account for 80 percent to 90 percent of the ASEAN EV market.
Maybank believes regulatory push will also drive the adoption of EV. Within ASEAN, the Philippines and Thailand have in recent years implemented subsidy and support schemes for EV manufacturing and adoption.
“Regulatory push in the form of soft loans for BEV purchases (Indonesia) and a subsidy scheme to boost EV manufacturing (Philippines) should help sustain and increase BEV adoption,” it noted.
It is noted that the Philippines has unveiled a PHP60b ($1 billion) subsidy scheme to jumpstart its domestic automotive sector and attract foreign investment.
Under this scheme, the government will provide up to 40 percent co-funding for pure battery EV models and components, and 30 percent for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell models.
To qualify, manufacturers can opt to choose a financing scheme based on a minimum capital investment of PHP 5 billion ($81 million) or production volumes of a minimum of 10,000 EV units.
Support is capped at PHP 15 billion per vehicle model, with manufacturers allowed to register a maximum of two models.
The subsidies will be issued as tax credits that companies can use to offset income tax, excise tax, value-added tax and import duties.
Thailand has proposed a THB 5 billion soft loan pool for households to install solar cells or purchase EVs, with loans capped at THB 2 million per person.
Globally, BEV sales rose 10 percent year on year, forming 17 percent of car sales versus 15 percent in the first half of 2025, said Maybank.
Fuel importing countries reported higher BEV sales while China and the United States witnessing declines, it added.
According to the note, automobiles account for nearly half of global oil use, making the sector particularly exposed to fuel price spikes and supply disruptions. The sector is also a key driver of oil imports in import-dependent countries.
While global car sales fell 5 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, Maybank highlighted that EV (BEV+PHEV) sales rose 2 percent year on year to about 9 million in the first half as per BloombergNEF.
This was despite 12 percent and 30 percent year on year declines in EV sales in China and the US.
The first two months of 2026 saw a year on year drop in EV sales followed by a pick-up in the ensuing four months, coinciding with the Middle East crisis.
In June, the global market share of EV rose to 29 percent versus 27 percent a year ago. China’s EV share has risen to 67 percent whereas for the US it is still at 7 percent, down from 10 percent a year ago.
“EV sales surged in the first half in fuel import dependent countries like South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and Southeast Asia. India, a large automotive market, has witnessed strong momentum for EV adoption with BEV sales at 8 percent,” said Maybank.
The research house also highlighted that China stands out as the only market where BEV cars are cheaper than internal combustion engine (ICE) across most segments.
The price advantage of BEV is most pronounced among small and large cars in China, as the comparison is partly skewed by higher-priced ICE imports, said Maybank.
In contrast, BEV cars remain more expensive to buy across segments in most other large automotive markets.
Premiums are higher in the US than in Germany and the United Kingdom, where price gaps generally remain below 20 percent as per BloombergNEF.
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