EV Sales Are Surging In Southeast Asia

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 reported 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 percent. 

 

"As Japanese and Korean automakers, who dominate conventional vehicle sales, lag in EV adoption, Chinese OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are stepping in to fill the gap", said Counterpoint analyst Abhik Mukherjee. 

 

"Over 70 percent of EV sales in the region are from Chinese brands, led by BYD", he added.

And for the first time ever, BYD has made it to Malaysia’s Land Transportation Department (JPJ)’s Top 10 list for vehicle registration. 

 

As revealed by the latest vehicle registration database, BYD is now in tenth place, with a total of 3,608 vehicles registered between January to May 2024. This is quite an impressive feat considering BYD is a brand unheard of by general Malaysian consumers until it made a splash with the launch of the BYD Atto 3 in December 2022.

 

For 2024 alone until May 31, the Atto 3 SUV remains the most popular model with 1,451 registrations, followed by the BYD Seal sedan with 1,421 registrations. Meanwhile, its most affordable fully electric hatchback, the Dolphin, had a total of 736 registrations.

 

If we look at the total registrations cumulatively since BYD’s passenger vehicle introduction in Malaysia, they have a total of 8,111 vehicles registered since December 2022. As expected, the BYD Atto 3 has the highest registration with a total of 4,641 units, followed by the BYD Dolphin with 2,049 units and the BYD Seal with 1,421 units.

 

For the Malaysian market, BYD is exclusively distributed by Sime Darby Beyond Auto, a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors.