Malaysia saw a year-on-year surge of 141.85% in electric vehicle (EV) registrations so far this year to 10,663 units, according to the Road Transportation Department.

Expansion into Southeast Asia is a priority of Tesla, Rohan Patel, a senior executive of the US automotive company, said on March 12, highlighting the fast-growing market where the company faces competition from China's BYD.

The market capitalisation of VinFast, the electric vehicle (EV) maker of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup reached 85 billion USD in its Nasdaq debut on August 15 with nearly 6.8 million shares changing hands.