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       Tiny Electric Vehicles Pack a Bigger Climate Punch Than Cars Two- and three-wheeled vehicles, used by billions of people, are moving away from fossil fuels to batteries faster than cars in countries that have made the energy transition a priority.

       Rickshaw drivers wait for customers in Darbhanga, India.

       Rebecca Conway for The New York Times

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       Tiny Electric Vehicles Pack a Bigger Climate Punch Than Cars

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       By Somini Sengupta, Abdi Latif Dahir, Alex Travelli and Clifford Krauss

       Somini Sengupta and Abdi Latif Dahir reported from Nairobi, Kenya; Alex Travelli from Darbhanga, India; and Clifford Krauss from Mexico City.

       Dec. 9, 2023

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       Big Oil faces a tiny foe on the streets of Asia and Africa. The noisy, noxious vehicles that run on two and three wheels, carrying billions of people daily, are quietly going electric — in turn knocking down oil demand by one million barrels a day this year.

       In Kenya and Rwanda, dozens of start-ups are vying to replace oil-guzzling motorcycle taxis with battery-powered ones. In India, more than half of all new three-wheeled vehicles sold and registered this year were battery-operated. Indonesia and Thailand are also encouraging electrification of motorcycle taxis.

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       Somini Sengupta is The Times’s international climate correspondent. She has also covered the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia and is the author of the book, “The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India’s Young.” More about Somini Sengupta

       Abdi Latif Dahir is the East Africa correspondent for The Times, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He covers a broad range of issues including geopolitics, business, society and arts. More about Abdi Latif Dahir

       Alex Travelli is a correspondent for The Times based in New Delhi, covering business and economic matters in India and the rest of South Asia. He previously worked as an editor and correspondent for The Economist. More about Alex Travelli

       Clifford Krauss reports on the energy industry, focusing on the transition to renewable resources in a warming world. More about Clifford Krauss

       A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 10, 2023, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Tiny Vehicles Lead Big Shift Away From Oil . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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