Motorists across the Asia-Pacific region are switching to electric vehicles at a rapid pace, as rising fuel costs due to the Middle East war force consumers and companies to reconsider their reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has nearly halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which in normal times carries about a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas, in what the International Energy Agency IEA has called the most substantial supply disruption ever.