An extra one billion cars on the road by 2040

THE number of cars on roads around the world is set to double to 2bn by 2040 as the global economy grows, according to predictions by BP.

The oil titan believes about 300m of those vehicles will be electric, compared to 3m today. But it reckons oil will still be providing 85pc of transport fuel despite the growing popularity of greener vehicles. In its benchmark annual Energy Outlook published yesterday, BP believes overall oil demand will continue to grow, boosted by demand for air conditioning and plastics manufacturing, but will peak in the late 2030s.

BP chief economist Spencer Dale said: ‘The suggestion that rapid growth in electric cars will cause oil demand to collapse just isn’t supported by the basic numbers – even with really rapid growth. Even in the scenario where we see a ban on combustion engines and very high efficiency standards, oil demand is still higher in 2040 than it is today.’

However, Dale noted tougher restrictions on use of plastic such as shopping bags and packaging could dent oil demand by as much as 2m barrels per day.