Electric cars save Netherlands hundreds of millions on oil

Electric vehicle drivers in the Netherlands have reinforced their choice due to rising energy prices linked to conflict in the Middle East.

A national survey showed that two out of three electric car users are more enthusiastic about driving electric because of high fuel costs. Globally, increasing gasoline and diesel prices have driven up sales of electric vehicles, with nearly one in five new cars sold worldwide being fully electric in the first eight months of this year.

The energy research group Ember found that twelve countries now have over 33 percent of new car sales as fully electric, and the Netherlands reached 42 percent in the first nine months of the year, with over half of new cars being electric in September. The increasing adoption of electric cars is reducing the need for oil imports in many countries. From March to August, the use of electric vehicles saved oil-importing countries worldwide 20 billion dollars.

Fully electric cars accounted for the largest portion of these savings, at 16.5 billion dollars. China and Europe experienced the strongest effects, saving 14 billion and 3.1 billion dollars respectively. Ember estimates that, based on an average oil price of 100 dollars per barrel, electric cars and plug-in hybrids could save the Netherlands 540 million dollars, or 485 million euros, annually on oil imports.

As of September, China had an electric vehicle fleet of about 52 million cars, while Germany and France had 3.6 and 2.8 million partially or fully electric cars respectively. The Netherlands has approximately 1.4 million electric vehicles, with plug-in hybrids making up 43 percent of that total.