SOUTHEAST Asia risks missing a major electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing opportunity unless Asean countries harmonize regulations, technical standards and supply chains, said the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP).
EVAP board auditor Jojo Conde said the Asean sold more than 15 million two-wheelers in 2025, accounting for about a quarter of the global market, yet the region produces only 6 to 10 percent of the vehicle worldwide.
“Asean does not have a demand problem. It has a fragmentation problem,” Conde said.
He said no single Asean market is large enough to develop a complete supplier ecosystem, but the region’s combined population of nearly 700 million provides the scale needed to attract EV manufacturing and investment.
Conde warned that Asean could lose this opportunity if member states continue to impose different technical standards, testing requirements and supply chain policies.
He cited policies already driving regional EV demand, including Vietnam’s low-emission zone, Thailand’s EV3.5 local-assembly requirements and the Philippines’ targets under the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act and Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry.
Conde urged Asean governments to establish common standards for charging and battery-swapping interfaces before national markets become locked into incompatible technologies.
He also proposed mutual recognition of testing and vehicle homologation results among member states to eliminate duplication and make it easier for EV products to move across borders.
Conde said localization policies should also allow micro, small and medium enterprises, which account for more than 90 percent of Asean businesses, to participate in areas such as charging infrastructure, components, vehicle servicing, battery handling and fleet financing.
EVAP corporate secretary Mark John Benedict Rola, meanwhile, said the EV transition would require a workforce capable of operating and maintaining new technologies.
“The EV transition is also a workforce transition,” Rola noted.
He said Evap is working with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to align vocational training with industry requirements and create a pipeline linking technical-vocational institutions, universities and industry.
Rola proposed comparable training standards and mutual recognition of qualifications across Asean to facilitate the movement of skilled workers.
EVAP vice president Carla Buencamino also called for faster and more coordinated procedures for developing charging infrastructure.
She proposed time-bound approval and energization procedures led by a single agency, as well as mutual recognition of equipment certification among Asean members to eliminate redundant testing.
With the Philippines holding the Asean chairship this year, EVAP wants the country to promote greater regional integration of the EV market.
EVAP said it would continue discussions with government and industry partners ahead of the Philippine EV Summit on Oct. 22 to 24 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila.
