Fuel Price Shock Pushes Global Gas Car Sales Below 50% for First Time

Oilprice.com ^ | 10/4/26 | Tsvetana Paraskova

[EnderWiggin1970]

Gasoline-only cars fell below 50% of global new vehicle sales for the first time, as the Hormuz crisis and record fuel prices accelerated the shift toward EVs.

EV sales surged across major markets, with European BEV sales jumping 52% year-over-year in August and second-quarter global EV sales rising 35% from Q1.

High oil and fuel prices could permanently accelerate EV adoption, although charging infrastructure and critical-mineral supply remain major constraints.

The share of gasoline cars in global vehicle sales fell below 50% for the first time ever as the Hormuz shock and the resulting record-high fuel prices accelerated the previously sluggish shift toward EVs outside China.

A few years ago, China blew past the threshold of 50% of all car sales being hybrids and EVs, and the share is now about 55%. But the rest of the world didn’t follow until the Iran war disrupted the fuel markets.

Global sales shares of EVs are far from the Chinese numbers, but the shift toward electric vehicles has been remarkably fast amid spiking gasoline and diesel prices, which pushed many consumers to choose EVs.

The surge in gasoline prices this year led to the first dip in the share of gasoline-fueled cars below 50%, ever, according to data by automotive data and analytics provider Mobility Global cited by Nikkei Asia.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: ev; fuel; hybrid; oil

[EnderWiggin1970]

But is electrical power generation keeping up?

[catnipman]

“But is electrical power generation keeping up?”

of course not, and surprise, surprise, almost all electrical production is powered by burning carbon based products ...

[Raycpa]

Trump should get the environmental vote.

[frank ballenger]

End the war.
Bring the troops home.

—1968.

[chajin]

End the war.
Bring the troops home.

FINISH the war. Stop acting like we can't win. THEN bring the troops home.

[fireman15]

We live in a situation where an electric vehicle likely would be useful to us in the future. We currently pay 7.5 cents per KWH and have a 10,000 watt solar system with a backup battery and uninterruptable power supply feature that came with the house we purchased several months ago. We haven't had to pay a dime for electricity and enough excess power was generated that we have enough KWHs in the bank to keep us from paying anything for electricity through most of the winter.

I am very excited that so many people in this area have jumped the gun and purchased new EVs. I expect that this will mean a large number of them will be heavily discounted on the used market in a year or two, when fuel prices return to normal and people realize that EVs have disadvantages in many situations when it comes to normal usage patterns.

Caption:

"This could be you if you buy an EV… Charging in the middle of winter because cold kills range ❄️ But if it’s hot out, long-term heat kills the battery"

[frank ballenger]

Absolutely agree.

[MinorityRepublican]

The silver lining of all this is that it means that the nations in the Middle East will be making less money from oil.

And they won't have the spends to interfere in American politics. Especially Qatar.

[Zathras]

Its the cost of cars that is driving down sales.

[maddog55]

You couldn’t give me an EV let alone drive one. I’d pay $20.00 a gallon just to hear and smell a high HP gas engine.

[GenXPolymath]

Nat gas is 40%
Renewables (wind,hydro,solar in this order) 24.1
Nuclear 17.7
Coal 16.6

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php

[ChuckHam]

lol. Oil powers everything. Red/greens won’t build nukes. Goat fornicators are going to sell oil for a good bit longer.

[MinorityRepublican]

Look around. Zohran Mamdani. Abdul El-Sayed.

If Qatar is broke, DSA politicans won't have the funds for their campaigns in USA.

[TalBlack]

Good! More gas for me.

[MileHi]

And in a couple months when things settle down, you’ll still be stuck with an EV. Stupid.

[ChuckHam]

They won’t be broke is my point. Oil is going to be king for a good bit.

[MinorityRepublican]

China is already using EVs.

We are transitioning to EVs.

Once everyone stops buying oil, it'll become cheap.

[ChuckHam]

What generates power for EVs? It isn’t unicorn farts.

[MinorityRepublican]

In the U.S. in 2025, EV charging electricity came from approximately 41% natural gas, 18% nuclear, 17% coal, 11% wind, 7% solar, and 6% hydroelectric power.

[drwoof]

Everything is different now. I have become a pessimist over the past five years. I do not believe that gas prices, which have more than doubled over that period of time, are ever coming down. Ever. It’s a Brave New World, and we of the slave/serf class are just getting a small taste of what is to come.