Battery-only models have already reached around 50% market penetration in recent months in Singapore and Thailand and about a third in China, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam. Even before the war, billions of drivers in Asia were looking for an alternative to the cost and pollution of petrol power and in numerous markets electric models were already as cheap as conventional vehicles.
In the Philippines, imports of solar panels from China during March alone were sufficient to increase total solar capacity by half, relative to levels at the end of 2025. In Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, trade was sufficient to boost installations by a quarter or more. One Manila-based solar installer told local news site Rappler that they were signing as much as 10 times more contracts per month than they were before the war.
The move to alternatives is accelerating.