Vietnam’s electric-car rise sets the pace across Southeast Asia
Electric vehicles secured about 40% of Vietnam’s new-car sales in 2025, surpassing the global share and placing the country ahead of Thailand and Indonesia.
- Vietnam has become Southeast Asia's largest electric car market, with EV sales growing to represent roughly two in every five new vehicles sold in 2025.
- The country's rapid growth is driven by government incentives, such as registration-fee exemptions, and the expansion of domestic automaker VinFast into more affordable models.
- This market leadership is supported by the development of a vast charging infrastructure, with VinFast's network alone comprising over 150,000 charging ports.
- Forecasts suggest Vietnam will continue to set the pace, with electric cars potentially securing over 80% of its new-car market by 2035, a higher proportion than any other country in the region.
Electric cars moved from the margins of Vietnam’s car market in 2020 to roughly two in every five new vehicles sold in 2025, as annual sales more than doubled.
That shift made Vietnam Southeast Asia’s largest electric-car market, placed it among the world’s leading markets for electric mobility and took its sales share above levels recorded in most European countries.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported in its Global EV Outlook 2026 that Southeast Asian electric-car sales exceeded 500,000 in 2025, more than twice the previous year’s total.
EVs consequently represented almost one-fifth of the region’s new-car market, with Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand driving the increase.
The agency linked the regional gains to policy incentives, higher domestic production and imports, particularly from China.
Thailand ranked second behind Vietnam after sales jumped 70% to about 140,000 vehicles, giving electric cars nearly one-quarter of its new-car market.
The regional acceleration formed part of a wider global increase.
More than 20 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2025, up 20% year on year and equivalent to one in four new cars.
China contributed over 13 million sales and recorded a share of almost 55%, compared with 4.2 million vehicles and 28% in Europe.
The United States remained at around 10%.
Incentives and VinFast widen access
Vietnam has offered registration-fee exemptions for battery-electric vehicles since 2022.
The IEA also identified VinFast’s expansion into more affordable models as a factor that broadened the domestic market.
VinFast delivered 175,099 electric cars in Vietnam during 2025, followed by 137,697 in the first seven months of 2026.
Its sales target for the full year was 300,000 vehicles.
The IEA forecast that electric cars could secure more than 80% of Vietnam’s new-car market by 2035, a higher proportion than in any other Southeast Asian country.
Statista also pointed to rising fuel costs, increasing environmental awareness and government support as reasons for consumers to consider changing to electric vehicles.
Separate domestic industry figures showed that battery-electric and hybrid models together accounted for nearly 29% of newly registered vehicles in the first half of 2026.
The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association estimated that about 1 million electric cars could be operating on the country’s roads by 2028, rising to 3.5 million by 2040.
Charging plans follow the rise in electric-car use
VinFast has worked with Petrolimex and PVOIL to add charging facilities at petrol stations.
Its network through V-Green is the largest in Vietnam, comprising more than 150,000 charging ports nationwide.
The carmaker plans to prioritise larger charging hubs for long-distance journeys while adding more battery-swapping facilities for electric motorbikes.
PV Power, a Petrovietnam unit, has entered the sector through a cooperation agreement with South Korea’s EN Technologies Inc. covering the study and development of electric-vehicle charging systems in Vietnam.
Government policy also places charging facilities within Vietnam’s transition to green transport and its longer-term goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The programme promotes the production, assembly and import of electric vehicles alongside charging infrastructure, while ministries have been instructed to examine installation rules for petrol stations and develop standards covering apartment buildings, commercial centres and roadside rest areas.
Source: Vietnam News
