Electric cars save five times more oil daily than five years ago

Transport & Environment (T&E), a European organisation, reports that the global savings in oil consumption from electric cars have quintupled over the last five years.

The analysis shows that electric cars now prevent the consumption of 1.2 million barrels of oil every day. This represents about 1.2% of global oil consumption. In 2021, these savings were only 215,000 barrels per day.

The growth is linked to international agreements made at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, where 24 countries and major car manufacturers agreed to end the sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040 or earlier. While battery electric vehicles currently make up 4.2% of the global car fleet, they now account for 25% of all new cars sold worldwide. This is a sharp increase from 6.6% five years ago.

Electric buses and trucks also contribute to these savings, providing an additional reduction of up to 320,000 barrels of oil per day. T&E predicts that if current policies continue, electric cars could save 5.8 million barrels of oil daily by 2034. Antony Froggatt, a senior director at T&E, says these vehicles are the most effective way to reduce oil demand and increase energy security.

He notes that regions with nearly 100% electric car new sales, such as Norway, Denmark, and Hong Kong, have protected themselves against future energy crises. The organisation believes international support at COP31 could create a breakthrough for both oil demand and greenhouse gas emissions.