Could You Crash the World’s Oil Markets by Buying an Electric Car?

Is it possible that only a small increase in demand for electric cars could cause a world wide glut of oil followed by falling prices? I would be tempted to say that maybe this has already happened except not just due to electric cars, but also a steep increase in the efficiency of cars on the road today.

When you add to this a steep decline in demand for global resources including energy in China as a result of their economic down turn you have a similar situation to what some experts say may happen in the future just due to electric cars.

How many electric cars are on the road today?

There are more than one billion cars on the road worldwide today, and only one tenth of one percent of them have a plug. Tesla motors is working to build more factories for their popular electric vehicles and every major car and motorcycle manufacturer are planning electric products in the next two years.

OPEC contends that even in the year 2040, EVs will make up just one percent. But don’t be so sure. By 2020, some electric cars and SUVs will be faster, safer, cheaper, and more convenient than their gasoline counterparts. What if people just stop buying oil?

Bloomberg projects the demise of the world’s oil markets by 2040

In this video, Bloomberg’s Tom Randall does the math on when oil markets might be headed for the big crash. I think that the added factor of combustion engines becoming more efficient through the use of lighter materials and technologies such as start-stop control, turbo and supercharging as well as variable displacement engines will likely accelerate this estimate and I contend the we may be witnessing the collapse of the oil market today.

In the coming months and years we will see if the price of oil recovers at least in part or if energy efficient  gasoline engines, hybrid plugins and electric cars cause a permanent crash of the world’s oil markets.

Here is the video from Bloomberg.