• Electric and electrified vehicles are displacing millions of barrels of oil globally every day.
• The outsize share of road fuel use displacement isn’t coming from passenger cars just yet, but a different EV segment entirely.

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids displaced 2.3 million barrels of oil consumption per day in 2025, according to research from BloombergNEF. That number should more than double by the end of the decade as sales of battery-powered cars continue to climb globally, the company projects. 

Despite the slowdown in the U.S., EV sales continue to grow robustly in the rest of the world, including in major economies like China, Europe, and India. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, automakers sold 20.7 million plug-in vehicles worldwide last year, representing 20% year-over-year growth.

Surprisingly, electric two- and three-wheelers are currently cutting oil use more than cars, particularly in developing economies across Asia, BNEF said. Those smaller vehicles displaced some 1.1 million barrels of oil per day last year, as compared with around 741,000 from passenger vehicles. 

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But BNEF projects that cars will drive an outsized share of oil displacement in the coming years, with plug-in vehicles collectively erasing up to 5.3 million barrels of daily oil use by 2030. For context, a single barrel of crude oil is 42 gallons, so the math here is pretty staggering.

Energy think tank Ember has a more conservative estimate than BNEF, saying plug-in vehicles avoided 1.7 million barrels of oil per day in 2025 globally. Like BNEF, Ember factors in both fully electric vehicles and PHEVs in its data. That number is still equivalent to 70% of Iran’s oil exports going through the Strait of Hormuz last year, Ember said. 

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Research shows that displacing oil consumption can bring direct, tangible benefits to public health in communities. Even after accounting for emissions associated with manufacturing and electricity generation, EVs have a lower carbon footprint over their lifetime compared to gas cars. Studies have shown that high adoption of EVs in California and New York has helped clean up the air. 

Of course, the promise of cleaner air alone doesn’t move cars off of dealer lots. Most buyers are thinking about their wallets, and consuming less gas makes economic sense too.
Residential electricity remains significantly cheaper than average gas prices on a per-mile-driven basis across the country. And total cost of ownership, factoring in things like fuel and maintenance, can tilt meaningfully in favor of EVs, depending on where you live and how often you rely on fast-charging networks versus home charging.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Cost Calculator is a useful tool to run the numbers yourself. For example, a 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 all-wheel drive costs hundreds of dollars less to run and maintain annually than a 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD in New York. And with the ongoing conflict in Iran keeping gas prices elevated, the importance of using less oil is hitting home for drivers in a new way.

Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com

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