- Research undertaken by BloombergNEF shows that the rapid growth of the EV market, particularly across the key regions of China, Europe, and the US, is already causing demand for oil in the road travel sector to falter.
- EVs across the world are already replacing 1.8 million barrels of oil (nearly 300 million litres) daily – with that figure estimated to double by 2027, and triple just before the end of the decade, in 2029, according to the research.
- These figures suggest that by 2027, demand for oil in the road sector in particular will peak, causing demand within the sector to be in decline after the peak is reached.
EV growth to help in reaching peak oil
BloombergNEF’s figures showed that without the massive growth in EVs seen over the past decade or so, demand for fossil fuels in the road travel sector would not have peaked until 2040 – 13 years later than its current prediction for peak demand.
The figures show some optimism for the EV market, despite several manufacturers recently pushing back their EV targets. This demonstrates that fully-electric vehicles will still be the way forward in the long term, even if deadlines have been pushed a couple of years back. This rapid displacement of oil in just the next five years will come from growth in a number of EV sectors. Not only are multiple countries beginning to implement looming ZEV mandates on passenger cars, but the growth of battery-powered vehicles in the commercial sector, particularly with buses and trucks, as seen at this week’s IAA Transportation, will also contribute significantly to this significantly reduced demand for oil in the future.
