Southeast Asian is emerging as a global hotspot for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, with several countries in the region overtaking the United States and parts of Europe in the share of EVs sold, according to new analysis by energy think tank Ember.
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Singapore and Vietnam have achieved EV penetration rates of around 40 per cent of new passenger car sales – higher than levels recorded this year in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Thailand, which has seen rapid growth driven by Chinese EV imports, reached 21 per cent. Even Indonesia, historically an energy transition laggard, hit 15 per cent, surpassing the US for the first time.
The shift highlights how Southeast Asia has vaulted from a low starting point to a position of global leadership in less than five years. Vietnam’s EV share was below 0.05 per cent as recently as 2021.
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In 2025, the centre of gravity has moved. Emerging markets are no longer catching up – they are leading the shift to electric mobility.
Euan Graham, electricity and data analyst, Ember
The report finds that more than a quarter of all new cars sold worldwide in 2025 are now electric, with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries contributing disproportionately to that growth.
It notes that due to their high levels of efficiency, electric vehicles help to drive large cuts in overall fossil fuel consumption – even if a country’s electricity supply is heavily dependent on fossil generation, such as Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Singapore and Vietnam have achieved EV penetration rates of around 40 per cent of new car sales – higher than levels recorded this year in the US and Japan. Source: Ember
Industrial strategy and air pollution concerns driving EV shift
Governments across Asean are increasingly treating electric mobility as a strategic priority, aiming to cut fossil fuel imports, curb urban air pollution, and attract new manufacturing investment, the analysis notes.
Indonesia has rolled out reduced import tariffs for automakers that commit to establishing local manufacturing, securing major investments from global EV producers. Vietnam – one of Asean’s most polluted countries – has announced new low-emissions zones and expanded its clean transportation push this year.
Vietnam’s transition is being driven almost entirely by domestic automaker VinFast, whose compact VF 3 model has become the country’s best-selling car. The World Bank has estimated that the EV industry could create 6.5 million jobs in Vietnam by 2050.
Elsewhere, Chinese automakers such as BYD have been central to meeting the region’s surging demand. Indonesia recorded the second-largest growth in Chinese EV imports globally in 2025. Markets outside the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, have accounted for nearly all growth in Chinese EV exports over the last two years, according to Ember.
The think tank argues that assumptions about EV uptake stagnating outside Europe and China are already outdated. India, Mexico and Brazil now have a higher EV sales share than Japan, where its leading carmaker, Toyota, has been criticised by environmental groups for its sluggish shift to EVs.
As Southeast Asia accelerates on transport electrification, Ember analysts say the region’s policy decisions – especially on infrastructure buildout, industry incentives and grid readiness – will play a significant role in the pace of global decarbonisation.
“Emerging markets will shape the future of the global car market,” said Euan Graham, electricity and data analyst at Ember. “The choices made now on charging infrastructure and early support will determine how fast this momentum continues.”
China is set to exceed 50 per cent EV share for the first time in 2025. The country is on track to make up close to two thirds of global EV sales for the second year in a row, and it is now by far the largest global EV market.
Europe’s market share of EVs, meanwhile, remained stagnant at 20 per cent in 2024, although stricter European carbon dioxide emission standards should increase the continent’s EV sales share to 25 per cent by the end of this year. By 2030, the number should increase close to 60 per cent, analysts project.
By contrast, incentives to drive EV adoption in the US have been rolled back since the election of Donald Trump as president. As part of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, the Trump administration has removed the federal EV tax credit. Electric’s share of new car sales in the US has plateaued at a mere 10 per cent since 2023.
