Electric car boom won’t spell end of oil: IEA chief

Even on record sales, the number of electric cars today has only reached 2m

The use of electric cars is set to grow in the coming years, but this will not spell the end of demand for oil, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol told Agence FrancePresse in an interview that the growth of electric cars was starting from a very small base and oil would still be needed for ships, planes and trucks. Focus on the gamechanging potential of electric cars has increased dramatically in the last weeks.

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France said it will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 and Volvo Cars plans to start phasing out production of conventional petrolonly cars from 2019, with all new models to be electric or hybrid from that date.

“Today, many people talk about electric cars — rightly so because electric car sales are increasing. Last year we have seen a record in the sale of electric cars,” said Birol, whose inter-governmental organisation seeks to ensure a reliable energy supply for its member states. But even on these record sales, the number of electric cars today has only reached two million, just 0.2 per cent of the global car fleet.

“It will grow but it will not bring us the end of the oil era,” he said on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.

“Oil demand will be driven by trucks, it is going to be driven by aviation, by jets, by ships and, very importantly, the petrochemical industry.”

“So it is very difficult to substitute oil in these sectors at least in the short and medium term,” he said.