It’s hard to pitch electric vehicles (EVs) to drivers who are used to combustion engines. Among the obstacles often cited are range anxiety, high prices, and an underpenetrated charging infrastructure. Yet, entrepreneurs and venture investors in Southeast Asia continue to innovate and back the sector believing the transition to mass EV adoption is inevitable.
In Vietnam, for instance, startups Selex Motors and Dat Bike are targeting the two-wheeler space, which is ripe for EV adoption given the longer range of electric bikes and the availability of technologies like battery swapping, which are more complex to implement in electric cars.