ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Singapore is forecast to have the largest share of passenger electric vehicles (EVs) in Southeast Asia by 2040, according to a report from Bloomberg’s energy research service BloombergNEF.
A total of 80 per cent of all passenger vehicles here are expected to be electric by that year, compared with a regional average of 24 per cent, the report said.
Thailand, in second place, is forecast to have a 41 per cent share, followed by Vietnam (31 per cent), Indonesia (25 per cent), Malaysia (15 per cent) and the Philippines (10 per cent).
Singapore had the highest EV adoption rate among the six South-east Asian countries in 2023, according to BloombergNEF, with EVs accounting for about 19 per cent of all vehicles sold here.
In the first seven months of 2024 alone, EVs formed 32.1 per cent of new car registrations, based on data from the Land Transport Authority.
According to the BloombergNEF report released on Aug 26, the Republic also had the highest density of public EV charging stations in South-east Asia in 2023, with one charging station for every three EVs. In Thailand, there was one public charger for every 16 EVs. Malaysia had one for every 38 EVs, and Indonesia had one for every 42.
In its 2024 report on the outlook for EVs in the region, BloombergNEF said falling battery prices are “key to EV adoption”.
The cost of manufacturing batteries can fluctuate depending on the availability and cost of raw materials and other components, as well as supply-and-demand factors.
This is because batteries are the most expensive component of EVs, said Ms Komal Kareer, the report’s author.
“Falling battery prices will reduce the upfront cost of the vehicle… and make EVs competitive with gasoline(-fuelled) vehicles,” said Ms Kareer, who researches clean transport in South and South-east Asia.
She noted that a key roadblock to EV adoption is “a dearth of electric models that can compete with these prices (of fossil fuel-powered cars) as well as deliver the desired performance”.
In its report, BloombergNEF predicted that battery prices would fall by 17 per cent every time the total number of batteries on the market doubles.
Between 2010 and 2023, battery pack prices fell 90 per cent.
In 2023, annual passenger EV sales in South-east Asia tripled for a second straight year, driven by supportive policies and the growing presence of Chinese carmakers in the region, which have been bolstered by subsidies and tax breaks.
For example, major Chinese automakers such as BYD, Great Wall Motor and GAC Aion have manufacturing facilities in Thailand – by far the biggest market for EVs in the region, with sales rising more than four times to 86,383 units in 2023.
More than 153,500 passenger EVs were sold in Southeast Asia in 2023, including 5,734 in Singapore. This figure includes plug-in hybrids.
