The “Electric Vehicle Fever” may lead to the extinction of the oil era in China

According to analysis from BloombergNEF, since the beginning of 2017, China has sold over 18 million electric cars, nearly half of the global total and four times more than the United States.

By 2026, it is estimated that 50% of total new passenger car sales in China will be electric cars.

Electric cars threaten the global oil market.

Robert Brecha, a professor specializing in sustainability at the University of Dayton (Ohio, USA), said: “If China’s electric car growth rate continues in the next decade, global oil consumption could be significantly disrupted.”

Currently, China is the world’s largest crude oil importer. Thanks to the country’s two-decade-long massive growth in consumption, crude oil prices have been pushed up to $100 (VND 2.4 million)/barrel. This is also where the generation of oil billionaires in the Middle East was born.

In fact, the transportation sector accounts for nearly half of China’s total oil consumption. Therefore, the increasing number of electric cars means a decrease in demand for fuel from crude oil.

If China, as a potential customer, is lost, oil prices could plummet and countries with strong oil export capabilities like Russia and Saudi Arabia could suffer.

However, experts also believe that it is too early to predict the peak oil demand in general, and especially in China. Currently, electric cars cannot yet have a significant impact on oil consumption. To have an impact, electric cars need to become more popular, have a dense network, and a synchronized infrastructure.

Electric cars are popular in China.

Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular in China. Gas stations now not only have fuel pumps but also a series of green charging stations and a mobile battery swapping station. These charging stations are always full.

Even though it takes quite a bit of time to wait for a full charge, many people are still satisfied with electric cars because they save a considerable amount, about 80% of fuel costs.

When the initial price of electric cars has reduced, affordable energy means owning a lifelong electric car is now cheaper than owning a gasoline-powered car.

Many people in China have stated that they will never go back to gasoline cars because electric cars are economical and convenient.

China currently has the cheapest electricity in the world thanks to the widespread use of renewable energy and cheap coal. China consumes more than half of the world’s supply and coal accounts for about 60% of its electricity generation.

Do electric cars really protect the environment?

Many studies have shown that the production of electric cars causes more environmental pollution than internal combustion engine vehicles because electric cars require more metals and carbon for mining and refining batteries. However, the emissions during operation can offset this difference.

During its 17-year operating life, a Tesla car in the United States can emit less than 55 tons of carbon dioxide compared to using an equivalent amount of gasoline.

To minimize the environmental impact, some companies like GEM Co. are also researching and developing methods to recycle batteries through chemical processes to reduce the amount of discarded batteries polluting the environment.

TH (Tuoitrethudo)