Electric Vehicles Displaced 1.5 Million Barrels of Oil per Day in 2021

Getty

A new report from research firm BloombergNEF shows the world’s rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is having a noteworthy impact on oil demand.

Report highlights:

The report estimates EVs displaced roughly 1.5 million barrels of oil per day last year, a little over 3% of global demand (43.7 million barrels per day).

• The amount displaced has more than doubled over the last six years, up from around 725,000 barrels per day in 2015.

• The 1.5 million barrels amounts to roughly one-fifth of Russia’s pre-war exports, according to the report.

Two- and three-wheeled vehicles represented 67% of the total oil displaced per day, largely due to increased adoption in Asia, followed by buses at 16% and passenger vehicles at 13%.

Passenger demand:

Global passenger EV sales rose 103% in 2021, reaching nearly 6.6 million units.

• EVs represented 13% of all passenger vehicle sales in Q4 2021.

Pure battery-electric vehicles dominated the category, representing nearly 70% of global EV sales last year, followed by plug-in hybrids at 30% and fuel-cell (hydrogen) vehicles at less than 1%.

E.U. sales represented 28% of global EV sales, outpacing the U.S. (10%) by a wide margin.

• EV sales grew the fastest in India, surging 209% in 2021 compared to 2020.