South-east Asian electric-vehicle (EV) start-ups have raised a combined US$ 622 million in disclosed equity funding since 2016, with Singapore accounting for the largest number of companies and the highest amount of funding in the region.

The figure covers 16 start-ups founded in 2016 or later across Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, according to a report released on August 24th by a data intelligence firm specialising in private-market research.

The ranking includes companies that have raised at least US$ 5 million in cumulative equity funding and covers electric motorcycles, commercial and marine vehicles, battery services, charging infrastructure and mobility platforms. The data intelligence firm said South-east Asia's EV sector is being supported by urbanisation, government EV programmes, rising adoption and the development of the regional EV ecosystem.

Globally, 843 companies in the sector have raised US$ 113.3 billion in all-time funding, with Asia accounting for 271 start-ups and US$ 43.7 billion, according to the firm.

Singapore leads in company count and funding

Eight of the 16 South-east Asian companies are based in Singapore, compared with four in Indonesia and two each in Vietnam and Thailand.

Singapore-based startups have raised about US$ 387 million, equivalent to roughly 62% of the total, based on the company-level figures in the firm's ranking. Indonesia follows with US$ 165 million, Vietnam with US$ 56 million and Thailand with US$ 14 million.

Funding is concentrated among a small number of companies. Singapore-based Beam Mobility has raised US$ 135 million, followed by commercial-EV company SingAuto with US$ 95 million and Neuron Mobility with US$ 78 million. Together, the three Singaporean startups account for US$ 308 million, or just under half of the total funding in the cohort.

Vietnam's Dat Bike, based in Da Nang, ranks fourth with US$ 51 million, followed by 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 account for the largest group

Electric two-wheelers form the largest group by company count, reflecting the role of motorcycles in South-east Asian transport. Dat Bike, Alva, Charged, Maka Motors, Ion Mobility, Scorpio Electric, Sleek and Selex operate in the segment, while several combine vehicle manufacturing with battery services. Other companies in the ranking focus on infrastructure supporting 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 focus on charging infrastructure.

The investor base includes Peak XV Partners, Jungle Ventures, GSR Ventures, TVS Motor, Horizons Ventures, Affirma Capital, Hana Ventures, Square Peg, AC Ventures, East Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners and ADB Ventures. Eight of the 16 companies are at the Seed or Series A stage.