Southeast Asia’s EVs displace USD 560 Million in oil imports in six months

Electric cars in Southeast Asia displaced crude oil worth around USD 560 million in the six months after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted in March, according to new analysis from energy think tank Ember. Thailand and Vietnam contributed the most to the regional total.

Ember’s monthly EV sales tracker, released on Oct. 14 alongside its analysis, covers new car sales in 56 countries. Of those, 49 recorded a record share of battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in the first eight months of 2026. In Southeast Asia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam all reached new highs, and Malaysia moved ahead of the United States on BEV sales share for the first time this year.

Fully electric cars made up 18% of new car sales worldwide between January and August, compared with 16% in the same period of 2025. Excluding the United States and China, global BEV sales rose by an estimated 45% year on year.

Higher oil prices have increased the value of these savings for economies that rely on imported crude. Brent crude has settled above USD 100 per barrel more than 60 times since the start of the year and climbed back above that level in September.

However, Ember’s estimate counts only electric cars. In many ASEAN countries, motorcycles and other two- and three-wheelers far outnumber cars, and Ember said they account for a bigger share of oil savings in those markets as a result.

Vietnam builds an EV ecosystem

Vietnam stands out within the region. It is one of 12 markets in Ember’s tracker where BEVs accounted for more than a third of new car sales in 2026, and one of only four in Asia, alongside China, Singapore and Nepal.

A domestic carmaker accounts for much of that growth. VinFast produced Vietnam’s best-selling car in 2025, according to Ember, and opened new factories in India and Indonesia last year. The company delivered 175,099 electric cars in Vietnam in 2025 and another 137,697 in the first seven months of 2026. It is targeting 300,000 deliveries for the full year.

Charging infrastructure is expanding alongside vehicle sales. V-Green, a company set up by the VinFast founder to operate the carmaker’s charging network, has more than 150,000 charging ports across the country. The network is shifting toward bigger hubs for long-distance drivers and adding battery-swap points for electric motorbikes. VinFast has also worked with state-owned fuel distributors to place chargers at petrol stations.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association expects around 1 million electric cars to be in use in Vietnam by 2028, rising to 3.5 million by 2040.

Thailand’s electric car fleet displaced about USD 210 million in crude imports between March and August 2026. Source: Ember.

Thailand weighs new incentives to sustain EV growth

Thailand, Southeast Asia’s largest automotive production hub, is considering new measures to keep its transition on track. According to the Federation of Thai Industries, 120,301 of the 621,166 cars sold domestically in 2025 were passenger EVs.

The country’s current EV incentive program runs until 2027, and industry groups have warned that sales could fall sharply without a follow-up policy.

In July, the government said it was assessing a THB 24 billion (USD 714 million) program to help owners swap up to 80,000 older commercial vehicles, including taxis, buses, trucks and tuk-tuks, for electric models. Officials were also weighing whether to extend support to EV buyers more broadly.

Ember senior energy analyst Euan Graham said countries that invested in electric vehicles before the crisis are now better protected from the oil shock, with every additional EV on the road reducing exposure to volatile global oil markets.