…9mb/d by 2040
11 October 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Electric cars could wipe out 3.5 million barrels per day of crude oil from use by 2025 as large numbers of automobiles go electric.
According to UK’s Barclay commodities analysts in a research note, adoption of electric vehicles and improved fuel efficiency could take out 3.5mb/d, roughly equal to the total production of Iran which pumps about 3.8mb/d.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, had also forecasts that if electric vehicles make up one-third of the car market by 2040, it could take out 9mb/d of demand, which is equal to 90 percent of Saudi Arabia’s daily production.
World oil demand will be 96.8mb/d this year, according to OPEC.
Barclays also revealed that some of the world’s top automotive markets will ban the use of vehicles that burn fossil fuels. Developed countries like France, Germany and the UK, as well as top growth markets in China, India and California are also considering a ban.
However, the analysts said there are still barriers to acceptance of electric vehicles including consumers getting discouraged by their prices and battery life.
It added there are still questions over the auto industry’s ability to increase production.
The range of zero-emissions vehicles on offer will expand significantly in the coming years, but sales targets are still just a “drop in the bucket” of the total market, according to Barclays.
According to the International Energy Agency, global sales of electric vehicles rose by 40 percent last year, as manufacturers offered consumers more options and better performance.
However, the roughly 2 million electric vehicles on the road still account for less than 0.2 percent of the global fleet of light-duty vehicles, the IEA noted.