Vietnam, Ethiopia, India Lead as Emerging Markets Outpace West on EVs

A Climate Week NYC panel brought together leaders from JSW Group, Siemens, ClimateWorks Foundation, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development who delivered a striking message: the global electric vehicle revolution is being led not by wealthy Western nations, but by emerging markets where economics, energy security, and industrial ambition are converging faster than climate policy ever could.

• Vietnam hit 37% EV sales share — 10 points ahead of Europe — while Thailand, Turkey, Indonesia, and Colombia all outpaced the United States
• India's EV sales surpassed internal combustion engine sales for the first time, as JSW Group goes all-in on a vertically integrated EV supply chain
• Ethiopia banned ICE vehicle imports and put 150,000 EVs on the road in two years; Kenya reached 25% electric motorcycle sales
• Battery-as-a-Service financing models are slashing EV costs to one-third of gasoline equivalents, removing the biggest adoption barrier
• Regulatory stability, not climate mandates, emerged as the top ask — a GM executive told one panelist manufacturers accept rules as long as they don't change every four years
• EBRD scaled from 15 electric buses to 10,000+ fast charging points across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with most deals now profitable on near-commercial terms

Why it matters: The assumption that EV adoption is a rich-country phenomenon is collapsing. Multiple emerging markets are achieving sales shares, deployment speeds, and industrial integration that the United States and much of Europe have not matched — reshaping where global supply chains, manufacturing capacity, and investment capital are heading.