Electric Vehicle Adoption in ASEAN: Prospect and Challenges

Abstract

Energy demand in the transportation sector is increasing, and the transportation sector currently emits a high amount of greenhouse gases. Electric vehicles (EVs) were introduced to mitigate these emissions of greenhouse gases. EVs are well-deployed in leading countries such as China, Europe, and United States due to EV-friendly policies and well-planned EV charging infrastructure. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) follows these leading countries and aims to become the next EV hub. Effective deployment of EVs requires involvement from governments and willing consumers that push EVs into communities. A survey was carried out among policymakers, manufacturers, and academia to determine suitable policies and financial incentives to increase the deployment of EVs in the market. The survey also included the hurdles and issues faced by the community to adopt EVs and identified that high purchase cost and charging issues are hampering EV deployment in ASEAN. EV-friendly policies and financial incentives were suggested in the survey and will be a good reference material for EV manufacturers and policymakers in ASEAN. 

This article was published in Chemical Engineering Transactions Volume 89, December 2021.

This study was supported by the Energy Foundation China (EFC) through the project “ACE-EFC Joint Studies on COVID-19 Impact on Energy Sector Development and Variable Renewable Energy Smart Microgrid – Electric Vehicle Integration”.