Diced Pepper Fish Head Sells Out in Indonesia, MPV Tops Sales in Thailand, Wuling Faces Challenges in Southeast Asia

Wuling is experiencing a strange misalignment in Southeast Asia.

The micro EV nicknamed 'Diced Pepper Fish Head' domestically has a rather limited presence in the Chinese market. However, in Indonesia, it is the 'national miracle car' that has entered thousands of homes. Meanwhile, in Thailand, the Wuling Starlight 730 MPV quietly took the sales crown, even local officials started riding it for outings.

However, just as Wuling started to taste the sweetness, a bucket of cold water from Southeast Asia was already ready.

'Diced Pepper Fish Head' Finds Second Spring in Southeast Asia

Wuling Air EV, called Clear Sky domestically, sold only about 50 units in China throughout 2025, basically equivalent to 'non-existent'.

But in Indonesia, this is the true 'national miracle car'.

In 2022, Air EV entered the Indonesian market, selling over 8,000 units that year, capturing 68.7% of Indonesia's annual EV market share.

By 2025, Air EV was still the number one in Indonesia's urban micro EV sub-market, with annual sales nearing 3,900 units, far leaving VinFast VF3 and Seres E1 behind. From entering Indonesia in 2022 to 2025, Air EV cumulatively wholesale about 22,000 units.

A micro EV that almost no one wanted in China has become the 'national EV' in Indonesia. The reason is simple: cheap. Except for Indonesia, in Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand, the price of micro EVs is becoming increasingly 'very low price'. Buying a four-wheeled electric car that can shelter from wind and rain costs about the same as buying a high-end scooter.

For cities like Jakarta, Bangkok, and Hanoi with high population density and traffic congestion, micro EVs are naturally a better option.

MPV Tops Sales, Even Thai Officials Love to Ride It?

If Air EV is 'so cheap it's irresistible', then the rise of Starlight 730 in Thailand follows a different logic.

In August 2026, Wuling Starlight 730 sold 897 units in a single month, taking the Thailand MPV sales crown.

In Thailand, Starlight 730 is renamed Darion EV, focusing on pure electric models, competing with Toyota Alphard and other gasoline vehicles in a different segment.

Darion EV mainly targets business reception scenarios, especially enterprises and institutions that need dignified reception but don't want to spend too much money. In Thailand, MPVs are the main model for business and official travel. With the combination of pure electric + large space + side sliding doors, Starlight 730 entered the MPV market long dominated by Japanese cars.

Southeast Asia Suppresses Chinese Cars, Wuling's Cheap Cars May Bear the Brunt First

However, tall trees catch the wind; Southeast Asia has already started hitting Chinese cars hard.

Thailand is tightening tax policies on Chinese EVs. On September 10, the Thailand National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee agreed in principle to introduce a three-tier consumption tax rate structure, where the consumption tax for purely imported models increased from 10% to 31%-39%.

To put it plainly, whoever builds in Thailand enjoys low tax rates; whoever only imports complete vehicles from China has to pay heavy taxes.

For Chinese brands like BYD, Great Wall, and Changan that have already built factories in Thailand, this hurdle might be passed. But for Wuling, the situation is completely different.

Wuling's main products in Thailand are exactly those high-volume models launched in import form. The Starlight 730 took the sales crown in Thailand, relying on pure electric + large space + relatively affordable prices. If the consumption tax on imported complete vehicles is significantly raised, this price advantage will be directly eaten up.

More importantly, Wuling's core competitiveness is 'extreme cost-performance'. People who buy Wuling are very sensitive to prices. Fluctuations of a few thousand baht could change decisions, let alone increases of tens of thousands of baht.

Thailand is not the only tightening market. Although Wuling has already set up a factory in Indonesia, localization requirements are also continuously increasing. Malaysia and Vietnam are also raising the threshold for imported EVs. Southeast Asian countries are shifting from 'welcome Chinese cars to sell' to 'require Chinese car companies to build'.

The explosion in sales of Wuling's 'Diced Pepper Fish Head' and the MPV sales crown in Southeast Asia are real tangible achievements. But Thailand's new tax policy reminds us of one thing: In Southeast Asia, the window period of selling cars without building factories is closing.

For Wuling, whose core competitiveness is 'cheap', this problem is particularly difficult to solve. Building a factory in Thailand means higher fixed costs and a longer return cycle; not building a factory, price advantages will be quickly eaten up by taxes.

It can be said that what Wuling does next in Thailand will be a key sample for Chinese car companies in Southeast Asia shifting from 'selling cars' to 'taking root'.