Most of the interesting cheap EV stories run through China. This one runs through Bangkok. Everything Electric APAC host Elliot Richards drives the Solarky sunV, a small four seater that costs about $8,000 and carries a solar panel on the roof. The pitch is not range or speed. It is a car sized around a specific problem: short city trips in a hot, sunny climate, where the sun can do a lot of the charging. Richards reports a 300 watt roof array that extends from 1.6 to 3.2 square metres, a 10.2 kWh battery, about 150 km of NEDC range, a 15 kW rear motor, and a kerb weight of just 660 kg. He calls it a grazing car, one you top up in small bites rather than plug in for a full session.
Solar cars have a rough history. Richards himself brings up the Lightyear as a cautionary tale. What makes the sunV different, in his telling, is that it does not try to power a big, heavy EV from the sun. It pairs a tiny battery with a very light body, so a modest solar yield actually moves the needle. Some useful context the video does not spell out: the sunV comes from Solarky Mobility Technologies, a Chinese company established in 2023, and it has been reported as one of the first mass produced solar EVs, launching in Thailand in December 2025 before reaching Tanzania and Indonesia, where it wears an MAB badge under a local partnership. Reporting on the car also lists its battery as lithium iron phosphate, a chemistry that trades some energy density for durability and heat tolerance, which fits a car that lives outdoors in tropical sun.
Richards says the weight is the whole trick. The sunV uses an aluminium chassis and polymer composite body panels for the wings, bonnet and trim, which he says keeps mass down to 660 kg even with the roof panel fitted. On solar yield, he reports around 55 km of range added on an ideal sunny day and roughly 30 to 40 km under light cloud, enough, he argues, that a Bangkok driver on short trips might rarely plug in. He estimates a full charge from empty would take about two and a half days of good sun, but stresses that is not how you would use it. There is an AC charger for when you do plug in, but no DC fast charging. Inside, he points to a modern enough cabin with a screen, wireless CarPlay, physical knobs for the air conditioning, and an old school handbrake, plus reversing cameras and radar. He says it comes with what you need and little more. On the road he compares it to the Wuling Mini EV he has driven in China, calls the steering and brakes merely adequate, and notes a top speed around 80 km/h. He is honest about the compromises: the ride is a little crashy and noisy, and some plastics feel cheap. He also notes a three year vehicle warranty with an eight year battery warranty, a side opening tailgate with 70 litres of boot space that opens to 800 with the seats folded, and a single mocha brown paint option on the car he drove.
Bottom line: This is not a car for everyone, and Richards does not pretend otherwise. It solves a narrow problem, cheap, low stress city driving in a sunny climate, and it solves it in a way most of the industry has ignored. The bigger idea here is the one worth stealing: lightweight, right sized, and built for how people actually drive, rather than chasing range numbers. If you live somewhere hot and drive short distances, an $8,000 EV that mostly charges itself is a genuinely interesting proposition. Everywhere else, treat it as a preview of an approach more makers should try.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.