Recently, a serious oil shortage is rapidly sweeping across many Southeast Asian countries. Fuel supply is tight and prices have risen sharply, putting local fuel vehicle travel in trouble. Daily commuting and logistics transportation have been significantly affected.In Vientiane, Laos, long queues of vehicles line up in front of gas stations. It has become normal to queue for two to three hours to fill up with gas. Some gas stations were even declared sold out in the afternoon.
The situation in Bangkok, Thailand, is also not optimistic. Some Chinese businessmen reported that a customer who originally drove an Audi Q5 had no choice but to take the subway to commute because he ran out of gas at several Shell gas stations.
The price of oil in Singapore has soared to about 15-18 yuan per liter. Filling a tank of oil is almost equivalent to a day's income of an ordinary salaryman.
This crisis is no accident.
Many countries in Southeast Asia rely heavily on imported oil, with Laos importing more than 90% of its oil products from Thailand and Vietnam. Affected by geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, international oil prices have fluctuated violently, and the supply chain has been blocked, resulting in a huge fuel supply gap in the region.
Although the Thai government has used fuel funds for subsidies in an attempt to control the increase in oil prices to around 10%, the physical reality of "oil shortage" makes the subsidy policy inadequate..
Facing the "paralysis" of fuel vehicles, electric vehicles have become a safe haven.
At the 4S stores of Chinese brand new energy vehicles in Bangkok and Laos, there was an endless stream of consumers looking at the cars and test driving them, and the scene was extremely lively. A Chinese businessman revealed that when he took his employees to buy a car, the store was crowded and the sales were extremely busy. On-site orders still had to wait for scheduling.
Electric motorcycles have become an urgent demand, and some store inventories have been sold out within a week or two. Prices have also risen accordingly, reaching an increase of 20%-30% at one time.
Chinese electric vehicles have become a mainstream alternative in the context of oil shortages due to their low cost of use, unrestricted replenishment by fuel, and cost-effectiveness and practicality adapted to local usage scenarios. The electricity consumption incentive policies of some countries have further promoted this trend.