China EV sales overtake traditional autos for first time ever; Southeast Asia continues to push EV developments

Passenger car sales in China reached 1.595 million units in July, CAAM said, of which 853,000 units were NEVs. In July 2023, passenger car sales amounted to 1.775 million units, with 780,000 NEV units.

From January to July of 2024, China’s production of NEVs reached 5.914 million units, an 28.8% increase from the 4.591 million units produced over the same period last year, while sales amounted to 5.934 million units, up by 31.1% year on year from 4.526 million units in the first seven months of 2023. 

With retail sales of 311,800 units in July, BYD remained the leading brand in terms of NEV sales in China.

According to sales data from BYD, cumulative sales from January to July totaled 1,703,300 units, up by 22.7% from 1,388,182 units in the same period last year. 

BYD was followed by Geely in second place, with Li Auto in third place in terms of Chinese NEV sales.

From January to July, China exported 708,000 NEVs, an increase of 11.4% year on year from 636,000 units over the same period last year, according to data from CAAM.

Europe and Southeast Asia were the main destinations for China’s NEV exports in July. 

Chinese automakers in Southeast Asia

“Building a local production plant typically faces less resistance than directly exporting goods into a country,” an industry analyst said. “And, right now, electric vehicles are gaining momentum in Southeast Asia, with countries in the region setting strategic goals to attract global investment.” 

Chinese EV producers have been expanding their presence in Southeast Asia via raising production capabilities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

“BYD sees Vietnam as a critical market [with] great potential in terms of the future development of EVs, [especially] given its population of more than 100 million people,” BYD Vietnam’s chief executive officer Vu Minh Ly said during an interview with a Vietnamese media outlet on August 5.

In addition to having an electronics factory in Vietnam’s Phu Tho province, employing 10,000 workers. BYD officially opened its first sales showroom in Vietnam on July 18, with the launch of three models.

In 2023, the Vietnam’s government announced BYD’s intention to build a factory to manufacture EVs in the same province, but those plans have stalled due to the global slowdown in the EV market, according to the company that operates the industrial park in the area.

On June 14, Indonesia also said that it plans to produce 600,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 via partnering with four Chinese EV companies – Neta, Wuling, Chery and Sokon – to build an EV production and export hub in the country, according to Indonesia’s Industry Minister. Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.

Malaysia is also partnering with Chinese automaker Geely to jointly build the Automobile High-Technology Valley in the country’s southwestern town of Tanjong Malim. The hub will have a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles by 2035, of which, 50% will be exported, Geely said in June.

Malaysia has extended import tax and duty exemptions for built EVs until 2025 and tax exemptions for dismantled EVs until 2027.

The Vietnamese government is also planning to subsidize electricity prices for EV vehicle charging stations to promote the usage of NEVs within the country, the government told Reuters on August 12.

The country currently has just over 150,000 EV charging ports, most of which are owned and operated by VinFast, Vietnam’s local EV producer.

In early August 2023, the Vietnamese government proposed offering a subsidy of $1,000 to buyers of NEV and plug-in electric vehicles – along with purchasers of solar-powered vehicles.

“Other measures by Southeast Asian countries to encourage the development of the EV industry include tax exemptions and a reduction for imports of complete EVs and EV-related production equipment and components – all of which will make the region a desirable location for foreign investments as well,” one EV producer based in Guangzhou said.

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