▍Thailand: BYD's sales surged in May, facing challenges in domestic economic development

According to statistics, in May 2024, the sales of electric vehicles in Thailand reached 5,474 units, a year-on-year decrease of 21% and a month-on-month increase of 33.9%, accounting for 13% of the total new car sales in Thailand. From January to May, the sales of electric vehicles in Thailand reached 31,851 units, a year-on-year increase of 32.1%. Among the top ten brands in the sales ranking, seven are Chinese brands.

Thanks to the increase in sales of its ATTO 3, Dolphin, and Seal models, BYD's sales surged 118% month-on-month in May, ranking first in the sales ranking of pure electric vehicle brands in Thailand in May. Earlier in the month, BYD opened its 108th store in Thailand, marking a further improvement in BYD's channel network layout in the Asia-Pacific market.

The "2024 Asian Emerging Manufacturing Index Report" released by the consulting firm Dezan Shira & Associates pointed out that Thailand's economic grade ranks at the bottom among the analyzed countries (Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, India, and Bangladesh), and Thailand's economic growth rate is expected to be 2.2%-2.7% in 2024, attributed to slower exports and Thai household debt reaching 87% of GDP in 2023, further exacerbating economic development challenges.

▍Malaysia: introducing the lemon law in March next year to protect the rights and interests of car buyers

In May 2024, Malaysia's passenger car production reached 70,132 units, a year-on-year increase of 16%, and passenger car sales reached 62,862 units, a year-on-year increase of 11%. The growth in car sales is mainly due to the increase in sales of domestic brands.

Recently, officials from Malaysia's Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs told local media that the ministry plans to submit a bill commonly known as the lemon law to the government in March 2025, or amend existing statutory provisions, aimed at more comprehensively protecting the rights and interests of domestic consumers after purchasing automotive products.

Officials said that Malaysian consumers have long faced unfair "suppression" from some auto companies and second-hand car dealers when purchasing new or used cars. When consumers find quality defects in new cars or problems such as tampered mileage in used cars, they lack relevant legal protection and also lack a legal system to claim compensation from auto companies or car dealers.

Currently, four existing statutory provisions in the country already cover some functions of the lemon law. According to the plan, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs has appointed several local legal experts to jointly study and draft relevant bills, including studying whether the lemon laws currently implemented in other countries are applicable to the Malaysian market.

▍Malaysia: introducing a new electric vehicle road usage tax policy from 2026 to reduce consumer vehicle ownership costs

The Malaysian government recently announced that it will implement a new electric vehicle road usage tax policy from January 1, 2026. Currently, all