Oil Prices Slide, Partly Due to Weakened Demand in China – CleanTechnica

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I saw an interesting headline this week regarding an industry I don’t closely follow, the oil industry. Yes, we write daily about cutting oil use by driving electric vehicles. However, I don’t follow what’s happening in the oil industry or trends in the price of oil. But “Oil prices slide under multiple pressures” caught my attention.

What pressures? What is causing oil prices to slide? Could electric vehicles be part of the story?

The answer is a strong … maybe.

Here’s what the article said:

Analysts see several unrelated reasons for the recent declines:

• Weak Chinese economic data keeps arriving.

• Reports of a deal among rival Libyan factions to restore production.

• The end of the U.S. summer driving season.

That’s what they figured out.

So, China is brought up there due to weak economic data. I don’t doubt that’s part of the story, and maybe the bulk of lower than expected oil demand in China. However, I do have to wonder if the rapid rise of electric vehicles is at play as well. More than 50% of new car sales were plugin car sales in China in July. That’s a milestone that’s been achieved after a rapid rise in EV sales in China over the past several years.

BYD, which only sells plugin vehicles, became the 9th best selling auto brand in the world in 2023. Sales in recent months imply it could be closing in on the podium — could become the 3rd best selling auto brand in the world soon. That photo at the top is a photo of BYD’s new shipping vessel, which the company bought this year to ship its electric vehicles all around the world more cheaply and efficiently.

The Chinese auto market is the largest auto market in the world — by far. Its fast move toward electric vehicles has to be having an impact, doesn’t it?