Southeast Asia "switches its face" toward China's EVs: raising import barriers to keep industrial benefits
Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand have recently tightened the conditions for importing Chinese electric vehicles, raising the thresholds for vehicle production and tax burdens, and requiring automakers to increase local production and component procurement. This move stems from the rapid expansion of Chinese automakers’ market share in these regions (Roland Berger data shows that they will account for about 90% of the market by 2025) as well as countries’ desire to develop their domestic industries through the trend of electrification. Thailand has increased the tax on imported EV goods through research, encouraging automakers like BYD to build factories to create jobs and gain technological advantages; Malaysia will raise the minimum declared value for imported electric vehicles to 200,000 ringgits (about 340,000 yuan) starting from 2026, forcing Chinese automakers dependent on imports to switch to local assembly; Indonesia aims to achieve 40% local component procurement by 2026 and 80% by 2030, relying on nickel resources to develop battery and vehicle manufacturing. Although the policy details vary from country to country, a similar trend can be seen: the difficulty of opening up markets solely through imports is increasing, while the importance of local production and industrial investment is significantly rising. The attitude of Southeast Asia towards Chinese EV…