Kuala Lumpur, Aug 2 (IANS): Favourable regulations, local brands and penetration of Chinese carmakers will drive Electric Vehicle (EV) sales higher in ASEAN countries including Malaysia, according to a research house.

Maybank Investment Bank said in a note on Thursday that it sees ASEAN companies that are partnering with Chinese car makers for manufacturing and sales and battery value chain companies to benefit from the EV rush, backed by battery minerals/ecosystem, a large automotive production base and robust demand.

According to the research house, Malaysia is planning to cut its fuel subsidies, which could prompt demand for EVs.

"The Malaysian government is contemplating reduction/removal of fuel subsidies. Any action on this will deliver the much-needed push for EV adoption as it will make EV more competitive to gasoline (vehicle) on a total cost of ownership (TCO) basis," it said, Xinhua news agency reported.

It also noted that in the next two years, Chinese carmakers would have production capacity of about 750,000 cars annually in Thailand.

Conversely, it said Japanese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Honda and Suzuki are shutting their capacities in Thailand.

"The battery cell glut globally should benefit ASEAN making EVs more competitively priced vs petrol," Maybank said.

According to the research house, ASEAN is witnessing a pick-up in electric car sales, mainly in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Malaysia reported electric car registrations soar 142 percent year on year to 10,663 fully electric cars in the first half. Indonesia reported an electric car sales surge 104 percent to 11,943.

Singapore reported a 218 percent jump year on year to 6,019 EVs, already surpassing its 2023 numbers. Thailand's fully electric car sales also increased 41.8 percent year on year to 26,377 units from January to April.