{"id":107004,"date":"2026-03-01T08:46:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/896620527"},"modified":"2026-03-01T08:46:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:46:34","slug":"chinese-carmakers-rev-up-ev-production-in-south-east-asia-but-net-gains-to-local-workers-uncertain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/chinese-carmakers-rev-up-ev-production-in-south-east-asia-but-net-gains-to-local-workers-uncertain\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese carmakers rev up EV production in South-east Asia but net gains to local workers uncertain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SHENZHEN<\/span> <\/span>\u2013 A fresh wave of factories in South-east Asia will begin churning out Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in 2026, as Chinese carmakers build assembly lines around the region in a broader push to expand overseas.<\/p>\n

The result of a saturated market in China and incentives from host countries, the factories may be a boost to these countries\u2019 economies but the jury is still out on how much local workers will benefit in terms of job opportunities, analysts say. <\/p>\n

EV giant BYD is expected to start production at its new Indonesia facility in the first quarter of 2026, and at an assembly plant in Malaysia later in the year, reports indicate, adding to <\/p>\n

an existing factory in Thailand<\/p>\n

and a smaller one in Cambodia. <\/p>\n

Another Chinese carmaker, Chery, is reportedly slated to open a plant in Vietnam in the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n

It also aims to complete construction in 2026 on a new Malaysian production base that will make EVs, hybrids and traditional petrol cars.<\/p>\n

The duo are part of a swell of Chinese EV makers stepping up their manufacturing footprint in South-east Asia, as regional governments court investments to boost their car industries.<\/p>\n

The production capacity of four-wheeled light vehicles in ASEAN\u2019s six largest economies is poised to rise by 1.55 million units or 26 per cent \u2013 from 5.9 million to 7.45 million \u2013 between 2024 and 2030, according to estimates by PwC, an advisory firm. <\/p>\n

Most of the increase comes from Chinese EV makers, said Mr Patrick Ziechmann, a partner and Asean automotive leader at PwC Malaysia. <\/p>\n

These players, with their EV technology, are entering the field and fighting incumbent automakers for market share, he said. \u201cThis is a massive addition to the current capacity, which is already partially underutilised.\u201d <\/p>\n

Apart from incentives from host countries, Chinese carmakers are chasing sales overseas because of <\/p>\n

cut-throat competition at home<\/p>\n

that is squeezing their growth prospects in a saturated market. <\/p>\n

The outlook in China is further clouded in 2026 by pared-back consumer subsidies and the re-introduction of a purchase tax. Domestic sales of EVs in January have already fallen almost a fifth from 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverseas markets will become structurally more important for Chinese EV makers in 2026 than in any previous year,\u201d said Ms Yu Bo, country manager for greater China at Jato Dynamics, an automotive research firm. <\/p>\n

\u201cInternationalisation is no longer optional, but a necessity as the growth engine,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

But while Chinese carmakers have hitherto largely relied on exports, they are increasingly building plants or working with assemblers abroad to produce cars for local sales and other foreign markets. <\/p>\n

This localised production allows them to enjoy perks in the host countries, and work around tariffs that would otherwise blunt their vehicles\u2019 cost competitiveness.<\/p>\n

The Chinese EV sector invested more overseas than at home for the first time in 2024, according to an August 2025 report by Rhodium Group, a research firm. Most of this has been in batteries, though investments in vehicle assembly have been growing rapidly, the report added.<\/p>\n

South-east Asia \u2013 Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia in particular \u2013 is likely to see the most pronounced activity from Chinese carmakers, alongside parts of Latin America, said Jato\u2019s Ms Yu. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese markets combine supportive EV incentives, growing domestic demand and ambitions to develop regional EV manufacturing hubs,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

In Thailand, a generous mix of subsidies and tax breaks has made the country an early destination for Chinese EV companies. BYD, Great Wall Motor, SAIC, Changan, Chery and GAC are among the carmakers that have already set up plants in South-east Asia\u2019s largest car manufacturing hub.<\/p>\n

In Indonesia and Malaysia, earlier tax incentives on imports of fully built EVs expired from 2026, prompting firms to start assembling locally for better access to these markets. <\/p>\n

Indonesia, for example, had temporarily slashed duties for imports by EV makers that were committed to investing in local manufacturing facilities, while stipulating that these would have to come online by 2026 and meet minimum requirements for local content.<\/p>\n

Mr Rachmat Kaimuddin, a deputy at Indonesia\u2019s Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development, said in December 2025 that nine automotive brands had committed to producing EVs in the country, according to a Jakarta Globe report. <\/p>\n

Most of the nine were Chinese, but they also included France\u2019s Citroen, Vietnam\u2019s VinFast and Germany\u2019s Volkswagen. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe direction is clear: Build EVs locally. We want investment, production and jobs to grow, not just imports,\u201d Mr Rachmat separately said, according to a September 2025 report in The Business Times. <\/p>\n

Even as EV production revs up, analysts caution that it is too early to judge how much this will benefit the local industry. <\/p>\n

There are questions about how localised automakers\u2019 supply chains will eventually be, and whether this will spur the growth of domestic parts producers, just as Japanese carmakers had done after sinking roots in the region decades earlier.<\/p>\n

For now, \u201cthe general sense is that a lot of the tech transfer that local suppliers were expecting… that is not happening,\u201d said Mr Akshay Prasad, a principal at consultancy Arthur D. Little and a member of its automotive practice in Singapore.<\/p>\n

To keep prices low amid stiff competition, Chinese carmakers are bringing in their own suppliers from China instead of investing time and money into training local producers, he noted.<\/p>\n

On the jobs front, the opening of Chinese factories may generate new work \u2013 Indonesian officials say BYD\u2019s new factory could create some 18,000 jobs \u2013 but the EV wave could also disrupt traditional automakers and their local suppliers, causing them to employ fewer people. <\/p>\n

In Thailand, Japanese carmakers such as Nissan and Honda have been cutting back on production capacity as they cede market share to their Chinese competitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployment may shift, more than anything else, from established players (like) the Japanese to the Chinese,\u201d said PwC\u2019s Mr Ziechmann.<\/p>\n

He added that for now, it is unclear whether Chinese automakers are willing to go beyond \u201cscrewdriver activities and assembly\u201d in the region and transfer the production of higher-value components to local vendors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe role for governments is to incentivise exactly that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

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… host countries, Chinese carmakers<\/span> are chasing sales overseas … at Jato Dynamics, an automotive<\/span> research firm. \u00e2\u0080\u009cInternationalisation … pronounced activity from Chinese carmakers<\/span>, alongside parts of … also disrupt traditional automakers<\/span> and their local suppliers …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107004\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}