The impending hit to global oil demand from electric vehicles looks fractionally smaller than previously expected amid faltering American sales growth, according to the International Energy Agency.
Electric vehicles will displace about 5.4 million barrels a day of oil consumption globally by 2030, the Paris-based agency said in its annual outlook on the sector on Wednesday, down from 6 million barrels a day in last year’s forecast.
“The sales share in the United States grows much more modestly” than previously expected, reaching 20% by the end of the decade, or half the level forecast a year ago, according to the report. Growth in US electric car sales slowed to 10% last year, from 40% in 2023, it added.
The IEA modestly boosted forecasts for EV sales in China, which will account for 80% of global sales by 2030, and some emerging markets. Sales in southeast Asia are “boosted by strong policy support and available domestic manufacturing capacity,” it said.
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