ASEAN countries face issues with rising ELV generation

Japan – Surveys show a total end-of-life vehicle (ELV) generation of 422 000 units in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar during the course of 2013, according to a report entitled ‘Automotive Recycling in 6 ASEAN Countries’ from Tokyo’s Yano Research Institute.

The think-tank forecasts that ELV generation across these countries will rise to 983 000 units in 2020 on the basis of long average service lives and increasing new vehicle sales. At present, the total number of vehicles in operation in these countries is approximately 50 million.

Environmental concerns are becoming more of an issue because adequate processes and infrastructure for the proper recycling of ELVs are not in place in ASEAN countries. Also, an increase in ELVs is expected to boost generation of strategic metals such as rare earths, thus rendering resource collection an ever more important undertaking.

In the field of ELV recycling, there is a wide gap between the performances of developed and developing countries. At the recent International Roundtable for Automotive Recyclers held in Japan, there was a shared recognition of the need for Japan and other developed nations to take the initiative in building basic recycling structures in developing countries.

Also at the gathering, Japanese recyclers identified the possibility of business expansion in South East Asian markets.

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