Compared to other countries in Asia—such as China, Japan, and South Korea—electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Vietnam has so far proved low and slow. Statista recorded approximately 284,000 passenger vehicle sales for the country in 2022. Working with a similar total, industry analyst BMI Research estimates only 3% were EVs. However, the situation could be about to change.
An August 2023 report from BMI projects that a CAGR of 26% from 2023 to 2032 could raise EV penetration in Vietnam to almost 14% by 2030. By around that same year, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacture’s Association estimates that electric passenger vehicle ownership will exceed one million units.
But what is driving this growth, and what are challenges and opportunities of the country’s anticipated electrification acceleration?
