Policy Environment and Market Potential
Many African countries have identified new energy vehicles (NEVs) as a core driver for economic transformation. South Africa has released an Electric Vehicle White Paper, planning to ban the sale of fuel-powered vehicles by 2035 and offering a 10-year corporate income tax exemption for locally assembled electric vehicles. Countries like Ghana and Ethiopia have implemented tax exemption policies for NEVs: Ghana exempts imported electric vehicles from tariffs for 8 years, while Ethiopia has prohibited fuel vehicle imports and exempts electric vehicles from taxes. Driven by policies, Africa's new energy commercial vehicle market is expanding rapidly. It is estimated that by 2025, electric vehicle sales in five countries including Kenya and Nigeria will reach 340,000 to 820,000 units.
Infrastructure and Scenario Adaptation
Despite the incomplete charging network (South Africa has fewer than 2,000 public charging piles, concentrated in developed areas like Gauteng Province), Chinese companies are breaking through with innovative models. For example, CATL has launched lithium iron manganese phosphate batteries adapted to high-cold regions (maintaining 85% energy efficiency at -20°C) and partnered with Yutong to promote battery-swapping heavy trucks in closed scenarios such as ports and mining areas. The annual operating cost of a single vehicle is over 100,000 RMB lower than that of a diesel truck. South Africa is piloting integrated solar-storage-charging stations, which use solar energy storage to address power rationing issues and serve as a key support for the electrification of logistics fleets.
Localized Production and Competition Strategies
Chinese automakers are achieving localized production through KD factories (knocked-down assembly). Beiqi Foton has built the first Chinese commercial vehicle production line in Brazil, while Sinotruk has globally deployed 29 KD factories covering markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Neta Auto has partnered with Kenyan enterprises to reduce vehicle tariffs from 35% to 5% through the CKD (completely knocked-down) model, with terminal prices 30% lower than Japanese vehicles. In contrast, Japanese automakers still focus on fuel-powered used vehicles—for example, Toyota primarily promotes used diesel pickup trucks in Africa—while Chinese new energy commercial vehicles establish a differentiated advantage through a "technology + service" model (e.g., GAC Lingcheng providing integrated solar-storage-charging solutions).
II. East Asian Market: Breakthrough Pathways Amid Technological Upgrades and Policy Games
Southeast Asian countries have prioritized new energy vehicles (NEVs) for industrial upgrading. Thailand aims for electric vehicles to account for 30% of light-duty vehicles by 2030 and has implemented a 0% tariff policy for imported EVs; Indonesia plans to have 2 million electric passenger vehicles in operation by 2030 and has opened up its battery industry chain for cooperation with Chinese automakers. The East Asian market exhibits polarization: the high-end markets in Japan and South Korea (e.g., Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks in South Korea) coexist with cost-effective markets in Southeast Asia. Chinese automakers must balance technological output and cost control—for example, Yutong has launched electric buses in Vietnam adapted to high-temperature and high-humidity environments, with battery degradation controlled within 5% annually.
East Asia has a relatively well-developed charging network, with countries like Singapore and Thailand forming a "1-hour charging and swapping circle." Chinese enterprises have partnered with local energy companies to deploy ultra-fast charging networks—for instance, GAC Lingcheng and Huawei are collaborating to build an all-electric logistics system in Malaysia, supporting cross-provincial express transportation. In the commercial vehicle sector, Thai logistics companies prefer to purchase electric light trucks with a range of over 400 kilometers, while Indonesian ports favor battery-swapping heavy trucks to improve loading and unloading efficiency.
Japanese and South Korean companies dominate the high-end market—for example, Toyota has introduced hydrogen fuel cell logistics vehicles in Thailand, and Hyundai is piloting autonomous electric heavy trucks in South Korea. Chinese automakers are breaking through with differentiated technologies: CATL’s Tianxing series batteries support 70% charge replenishment in 15 minutes, suitable for trunk logistics; EVE Energy’s LF230P batteries support 1,500kW ultra-fast charging, replenishing 300 kilometers of range in 15 minutes. Additionally, China’s hybrid technologies (e.g., Great Wall’s Hi4-G architecture) achieve a 25% fuel savings rate in mountainous areas, making them more suitable for Southeast Asia’s complex terrain.
In 2025, the landscape of Chinese commercial new energy vehicles in the African and East Asian markets will be characterized by "policy-driven growth, technological breakthroughs, and ecological co-construction." In Africa, breaking through will require localized production and innovative energy replenishment models, while East Asia will demand technological upgrades and standard coordination to capture high-end markets. For used vehicle exporters, the keys to success will lie in precisely matching regional needs (such as logistics vehicles in Africa and buses in East Asia), strengthening battery evaluation and after-sales services, and leveraging policy dividends (e.g., tax exemptions in Africa and subsidies in East Asia). As the global electrification process accelerates, China's commercial vehicle industry is poised to transform from "product export" to full value chain output of "technology + standards + services," injecting new momentum into the green transportation revolution in Africa and East Asia.
