Chinese EV Manufacturers Gain Ground in Indonesia and Thailand Amid Local Incentives
Incentive regimes in Southeast Asia are boosting Chinese EV brands, while Japanese automakers face market share erosion despite expanding hybrid offerings.
In Indonesia, electric vehicle sales surged in 2024 by more than one hundred and fifty percent to approximately forty-three thousand units, representing around five percent of the national car market.
Chinese brands such as BYD and Wuling have led the growth, supported by government incentives and local assembly plans.
Wuling’s EV share declined from forty-one percent in 2023 to thirty percent in 2024 amid competition from BYD, which has designed Indonesia as a global manufacturing base.
BYD is investing around one point three billion US dollars to establish a production facility in Subang, West Java, targeting annual output of one hundred and fifty thousand units by late 2025 or early 2026.
In Thailand, EV sales exceeded ten percent of total vehicle sales in 2024, with Chinese brand BYD capturing around forty percent of the EV market and accounting for approximately seven point eight percent of all vehicle sales in the first half of 2025—ranking fourth overall, ahead of Mitsubishi Motors.
Japanese automakers, dominant for decades and holding over ninety percent market share as recently as 2010, have seen their share fall to around seventy percent by mid-2025.
Thailand’s government has offered subsidies of up to one hundred and fifty thousand baht per full EV and provided tax incentives to promote EV production.
These measures have encouraged Chinese manufacturers including BYD, Great Wall Motor, Changan, and GAC AION to establish local operations.
The Board of Investment recently revised incentive rules to encompass hybrid vehicles and address oversupply risks amid growing EV output.
Analysts note that Japanese manufacturers are responding by expanding hybrid model line-ups in both countries, though government support for hybrids remains limited.
The transformation in Southeast Asia’s electric vehicle market reflects accelerating competition driven by Chinese investment and local policy support.
Chinese brands such as BYD and Wuling have led the growth, supported by government incentives and local assembly plans.
Wuling’s EV share declined from forty-one percent in 2023 to thirty percent in 2024 amid competition from BYD, which has designed Indonesia as a global manufacturing base.
BYD is investing around one point three billion US dollars to establish a production facility in Subang, West Java, targeting annual output of one hundred and fifty thousand units by late 2025 or early 2026.
In Thailand, EV sales exceeded ten percent of total vehicle sales in 2024, with Chinese brand BYD capturing around forty percent of the EV market and accounting for approximately seven point eight percent of all vehicle sales in the first half of 2025—ranking fourth overall, ahead of Mitsubishi Motors.
Japanese automakers, dominant for decades and holding over ninety percent market share as recently as 2010, have seen their share fall to around seventy percent by mid-2025.
Thailand’s government has offered subsidies of up to one hundred and fifty thousand baht per full EV and provided tax incentives to promote EV production.
These measures have encouraged Chinese manufacturers including BYD, Great Wall Motor, Changan, and GAC AION to establish local operations.
The Board of Investment recently revised incentive rules to encompass hybrid vehicles and address oversupply risks amid growing EV output.
Analysts note that Japanese manufacturers are responding by expanding hybrid model line-ups in both countries, though government support for hybrids remains limited.
The transformation in Southeast Asia’s electric vehicle market reflects accelerating competition driven by Chinese investment and local policy support.
