Over 1,000,000 fewer barrels of oil per day: electric cars are putting a huge industry under pressure.
14/11/2026 11:00
Updated to
14/11/2026 11:00
The expansion of electric mobility is beginning to have significant impacts on the global energy market. Although combustion vehicles still account for the majority of road transportation, the growth of battery-powered models is gradually reducing the amount of oil needed to keep the vehicle fleet running.
A new analysis by Transport & Environment (T&E) estimates that electric cars currently help avoid 1.2 million barrels of oil consumption per day, a figure that far exceeds the 215,000 barrels recorded in 2021. In just five years, the amount of oil displaced has more than quintupled and now accounts for approximately 1.2% of global demand.
One in four new cars sold worldwide is already electric
This progress is particularly significant when comparing registrations with the number of vehicles still on the road. Battery electric cars account for only 4.2% of the world’s passenger car fleet, but their share of new car sales has already reached 25%, up from 6.6% five years ago.
This difference reflects how the gradual renewal of fleets can alter energy consumption in the coming years. To make its estimates, T&E used data from Ember, which indicates that oil replaced by each electric vehicle is approximately 0.019 barrels per day, equivalent to about three liters of crude oil.
The impact is not limited to private cars either. According to the organization, electric buses account for around 5% of the global fleet, while electric trucks make up 1%. Together, these two categories can prevent up to 320,000 additional barrels of oil from being used each day, even though their adoption remains limited in many markets.
In addition to these figures is the impact on pollutant emissions. T&E estimates that battery electric vehicles currently on the roads prevent more than 200 million tons of CO₂ equivalent per year. This is an estimate related to the replacement of combustion vehicles, with its magnitude depending on factors such as each vehicle’s usage and its energy needs.
The oil savings could approach six million barrels per day by 2034
Projections indicate an even greater reduction in dependence on fossil fuels. Based on the growth scenarios for the global vehicle fleet developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Transport & Environment estimates that electric cars could replace about 5.8 million barrels per day by 2034, assuming current policies remain in place.
The organization believes this development could have consequences for energy security, especially in countries that rely on crude oil imports. Its senior executive, Antony Froggatt, cited Norway, Denmark, and Hong Kong as examples of markets with high penetration of electric vehicles, while calling for binding commitments to electrification at COP31.
However, the figures from the study must be interpreted considering its methodology. The calculation focuses on fully electric vehicles and excludes plug-in hybrids, vans, and two- and three-wheeled vehicles. For this reason, its results are not directly comparable to other reports that include more categories of electrified vehicles.
In addition, the displaced oil does not come from direct measurements of global consumption, but from estimates based on the average fuel savings attributed to each vehicle. Despite these limitations, the results allow for quantifying the growing impact of electrification on crude oil demand, at a time when road transportation remains one of its main consumers.