Electric cars saved $20B in oil – and the US is falling behind — SkimNews
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- Ember estimates EV fleets in oil-importing countries displaced 200 million barrels of crude oil (~$20 billion) between March and August, as the Hormuz energy crisis disrupted supplies.
- China accounted for the bulk of that displacement, avoiding an estimated $14 billion in crude consumption; EU countries saved another $3.1 billion, led by Germany and France.
- The US fell further behind in EV adoption, with battery electric vehicles making up just 6% of light-duty vehicle sales in the first eight months of 2026, following the rollback of federal EV tax credits in September 2025.
- India, Brazil, Italy, Malaysia, and New Zealand are among 15 countries that overtook the US this year in BEV share of new vehicle sales; 49 of the 56 countries Ember tracks now sell a higher BEV share than the US.
- India has led the US every month since April; Brazil moved ahead as new manufacturing capacity came online; Japan doubled BEV sales in 2026 after introducing a new upfront-cost policy for buyers.
- Globally, BEV sales rose 11% year over year in the first eight months of 2026; excluding China and the US, sales jumped 45%, with India's market boosted by oil supply disruption concerns.
- Domestic EV manufacturing is expanding: Tata and Mahindra accounted for over 60% of India's EV sales in H1 2026, Brazil is growing as a regional manufacturing hub, and VinFast is scaling overseas production.
Why it matters: The US now trails 49 of 56 tracked countries in BEV market share, with just 6% of new sales fully electric after federal credits were rolled back in September 2025. Early EV adopters like China ($14B saved) and the EU ($3.1B) gained measurable energy security during the Hormuz crisis — turning past policy choices into concrete economic dividends.
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