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Asia catches up in EV race; China, Korea among world’s top 10 EV ready economies
Huge manufacturing opportunities seen in emerging Asian countries.
More Asian nations have stepped on the gas pedal in the electric vehicle (EV) race led by China and South Korea, with India, Indonesia and Thailand catching up, according to market research provider Euromonitor International.
China placed seventh in this year’s EV Readiness Index by Euromonitor, rising by seven spots from last year in large part due to the huge investments made into public charging infrastructure.
The economic giant continues to be the largest EV market accounting for 61% of all the sales globally this year. It is also home to 1.8 million public charging stations, or about 65% of global supply.
“China has seen a swift rise in fast charging stations, providing charging power of more than 22kW, which has helped fuel greater consumer confidence in buying an EV,” said Fransua Vytautas Razvadauskas, insights manager for mobility at Euromonitor.
Following closely behind is South Korea which jumped 10 places to rank eight this year. The report also spotted new growth opportunities for EV makers in emerging Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia whose government recently rolled out incentives to boost domestic EV and battery production.
Thailand has also stepped up with tax perks boosting EV sales, coupled with the influx of cheap cars from China.
“Competition in emerging EV market economies is expected to increase, with the Asia Pacific region offering the most opportunities. Despite the infrastructure constraints, EVs will continue to gain market share, benefiting from government incentives, rising consumer incomes and expanding car ownership,” Euromonitor added.
The intelligence firm also highlighted India being one of the fastest growing EV markets in Asia as the country’s sales of electric cars is projected to skyrocket by 50% this year. Its government has also rolled out a subsidy scheme to ramp up domestic EV manufacturing and attract investments in the sector.
Globally, European nations continued to dominate the 2023 EV Readiness Index with Norway retaining the top spot, followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, respectively.
