The Canadian Test Strengthens Southeast Asia’s Drive for an EV Champion

MARKHAM, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southeast Asia’s evolving EV ambitions gain a clearer shape as Vietnam’s VinFast uses its Canadian presence to signal how a homegrown automaker can help the region build a more confident electric future.

VinFast’s Hai Phong plant stirred to life before sunrise as a long line of electric SUVs rolled toward waiting transport trucks. The scene captured Vietnam’s accelerating shift into electric mobility at a moment when the company had just surpassed twenty thousand deliveries in October, a figure that widened its lead in a market it already dominates. It also showed how one Southeast Asian country is rewriting expectations about what a homegrown manufacturer can achieve in a field long shaped by foreign influence.

Across Southeast Asia, policymakers are trying to reduce emissions while balancing the pressures of rapid economic growth. The region’s governments have spent years offering incentives, setting targets, and inviting investment, yet most markets still lean heavily on imported technology for their electrification plans. A growing sense of unease has emerged among officials and industry leaders who fear that the region may again find itself dependent on outside suppliers at a crucial technological turning point.

Here, Vietnam presents an interesting case within this broader landscape. In a region where foreign automakers have expanded aggressively, Vietnamese consumers have instead placed their confidence overwhelmingly in their own national brand. VinFast’s models now lead domestic EV sales by wide margins, and the company’s influence is reinforced by a belief that a local manufacturer is more likely to invest in infrastructure, maintain service coverage, and adapt products to local needs. That sense of alignment between maker and buyer has helped Vietnam become one of the region’s fastest growing EV markets.

Scaling up inside Vietnam has required deliberate speed. VinFast expanded its charging network, broadened its product line, and matched ownership costs to local income levels, a set of decisions that encouraged early adoption rather than gradual transition. Each of these measures strengthened consumer confidence at a time when many neighboring markets were still waiting for the right conditions.

This domestic rise matters for Southeast Asia as a whole because the region is entering a period when its industrial future is being reshaped. The shift toward electrification is not only about emissions. It is also about where value is created and who controls the technologies that will define the next decades of transportation. Without a strong regional manufacturer, Southeast Asia risks repeating old patterns in which high value activities remain abroad while local economies compete for lower margin assembly work. A credible homegrown EV maker offers a different path.

VinFast occupies this role because it is the first Southeast Asian manufacturer to pursue full scale EV production with global intent. The company builds vehicles, invests in battery development, and is constructing a new facility in Indonesia, in addition to the plants recently launched in both Vietnam and India, to create a more distributed manufacturing base. This strategy suggests a long term view of the region as a connected industrial platform rather than a collection of isolated markets.

Canada brings a new dimension to this emerging story. A market shaped by long distances, harsh winters, and high service expectations becomes a testing ground for any automaker seeking global credibility. VinFast’s two year presence in Canada reflects a belief that a successful showing there would validate its engineering standards and its commitment to customer support. If a Vietnamese EV can prove its worth in subzero temperatures, perform on long highways, and be serviced reliably across a country of Canada’s scale, the achievement carries weight far beyond sales totals.

A foothold in Canada would also help strengthen Southeast Asia’s wider EV ecosystem. Strong performance in a demanding market gives regional suppliers more confidence to invest in batteries, electronics, and other key components. Bit by bit, this creates the basis for a more connected regional supply chain that can support long term growth.

EV markets remain volatile and competition is intense, yet Vietnam’s rapid progress has given Southeast Asia an example of what homegrown industrial ambition can look like when matched with national commitment. The coming years will determine whether the region becomes an active participant in shaping the future of mobility or continues to rely on technologies developed elsewhere. Vietnam has already taken the first decisive steps, with VinFast at the lead.