South

SOUTH-EAST Asia’s leading electric-vehicle startups have raised a combined US$622 million in disclosed equity funding since 2016, with Singapore emerging as the region’s main centre for both companies and capital.

The figure covers 16 startups founded in 2016 or later across Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, indicated a report released on Monday (Aug 24) by Tracxn, a data intelligence platform for private market research.

The ranking includes companies that have raised at least US$5 million in cumulative equity funding and spans electric motorcycles, commercial and marine vehicles, battery services, charging infrastructure and mobility platforms.

Tracxn described South-east Asia as an “emerging hub for EV innovation”, supported by urbanisation, government EV programmes and rising adoption.

Singapore dominates the list. Eight of the 16 companies are based in the city-state, compared with four in Indonesia and two each in Vietnam and Thailand.

Its lead is even larger by funding. Adding the company-level figures in Tracxn’s ranking shows that Singapore-based startups have raised about US$387 million, equivalent to roughly 62 per cent of the total.

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Indonesia follows with US$165 million, Vietnam with US$56 million and Thailand with US$14 million.

Capital is also concentrated among a small number of companies.

Singapore-based Beam Mobility tops the list with US$135 million, followed by commercial-EV company SingAuto with US$95 million, and Neuron Mobility with US$78 million.

Together, the three Singapore startups account for US$308 million, or just under half of all funding in the cohort.

Vietnam’s Dat Bike, based in Da Nang, ranks fourth with US$51 million, ahead of Indonesia’s Alva with US$50 million and Charged with US$48 million. Hanoi-based Selex Motors, Vietnam’s other entry, has raised US$5 million.

Electric two-wheelers make up the biggest cluster by company count, reflecting the importance of motorcycles across South-east Asian transport.

Dat Bike, Alva, Charged, Maka Motors, ION Mobility, Scorpio Electric, Sleek and Selex all operate in the segment, while several pair vehicle manufacturing with battery services.

The funding mix shows investors are also betting on the infrastructure around electrification.

Beam and Neuron operate mobility-as-a-service models and have raised a combined US$213 million. Indonesia’s Swap and Singapore’s Oyika focus on battery-as-a-service, while Singapore’s Charge+ and Thailand’s Haup target charging infrastructure.

The investor base is also broad. Peak XV Partners, Jungle Ventures, GSR Ventures, TVS Motor and Horizons Ventures are among the institutional and strategic investors backing the companies in the cohort.

Other investors named in the ranking include Affirma Capital, Hana Ventures, Square Peg, AC Ventures, East Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners and ADB Ventures.

Despite the capital raised, the sector remains in an early stage. Eight of the 16 companies are at Seed or Series A.

Tracxn said the profile reflects “a young ecosystem shaping the next generation of mobility”. THE BUSINESS TIMES