VinFast, a Southeast Asian pride as a homegrown electric vehicle manufacturer from the fast-rising economy of Vietnam, forecasts that pure electric vehicles—also known as battery electric vehicles (BEVs)—will grow by more than 100 percent this year, with the Vietnamese startup aiming to lead the race for sustainable mobility.
Toti Zara, VinFast’s CEO for Southeast Asia, told reporters at today’s symposium, “From Fuel to Future: The Philippines’ EV Turning Point,” that the overall EV industry is expected to grow by 100 percent this year, while BEVs are projected to exceed that growth rate.
“Our projection is to become the number one BEV brand by 2026,” he said, in a direct challenge to China-owned BYD, the world’s largest EV producer. VinFast currently produces only BEVs, while plug-in hybrids and other hybrid EVs still account for a significant share of EV sales in the Philippines.
Key markets for VinFast, aside from Vietnam, include India and Indonesia. Together with the Philippines, Vietnam and India posted record sales in March this year, driven by the soaring cost of fuel.
Most Southeast Asian markets also recorded strong growth, except for Indonesia, where fuel costs are subsidized by the government through Pertamax, as the country has its own oil production, Zara noted.
With surging demand, Zara said there is a need to ramp up production. Fortunately, the Philippines uses left-hand drive vehicles, just like Vietnam. “As we were discussing, we can easily bring in Vietnam-produced or domestically produced vehicles,” said Zara, who is also VinFast Philippines CEO.
Industry data showed a total of 58,905 EV units were sold in 2025, accounting for a 12 percent share in the Philippine automotive market with the plug-ins or hybrid EVs accounting for a bigger share of total EV sales.
VinFast also has significant production capacity in Indonesia, ASEAN’s largest automotive market, with output exceeding 100,000 units. “This month, we’re starting production in Indonesia,” he added.
