Australians are really getting on board with electric cars but the number of electric bikes has also exploded – and data suggests the smaller EVs are having a bigger impact on oil demand.
Electric vehicles as a whole displaced about 1.5m barrels of oil a day globally in 2022, according to Bloomberg. Two-thirds of that – almost 1m barrels a day – was just from electric bikes and mopeds, which are known as electric micromobility. Electric cars were responsible for a little over a sixth, with the remainder accounted for by vans, trucks and buses.
In 2021, Australia consumed about 1m barrels of oil a day across all sectors of the economy. The International Energy Agency IEA estimates that electric vehicles could displace 5m barrels of oil a day by 2030.
