# Electric vehicles saved six European countries about $2.2bn in oil imports

> Analysis by the think tank Ember suggests growing electric fleets spared six European countries nearly $2.2 billion in crude purchases over six months, as oil prices climbed.

- Published: 2026-10-30 by Tickety-Boo News
- Section: Environment
- Location: Europe
- Web page: https://ticketyboonews.co.uk/stories/electric-vehicles-saved-six-european-countries-about-22bn-in-oil/
- Original report: [How EV fleets are shielding Europe from oil price volatility](https://www.optimistdaily.com/2026/10/how-ev-fleets-are-shielding-europe-from-oil-price-volatility) (The Optimist Daily)

## In brief

- Ember says electric fleets spared six European countries nearly $2.2 billion in crude purchases from March to August 2026.
- Oil prices have risen 33 per cent since the Iran conflict began in late February 2026.
- Denmark's EVs displace oil equal to 13 per cent of its 2025 consumption, Europe's highest share.

Electric vehicles spared six European countries nearly $2.2 billion (around €2 billion) in crude purchases from March to August 2026, according to new analysis from the energy think tank Ember. The saving came directly from the oil those nations did not need to import, because their electric fleets cut demand for it.

It is rather good news, and the timing helps. Oil has become 33 per cent dearer since the Iran conflict began in late February 2026, with Brent crude close to $100 a barrel in late October, against $67 before hostilities. The main cause is Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a 104-mile (167-kilometre) channel that carries roughly a fifth of the world's daily oil and liquefied natural gas.

Worldwide, electric vehicles displaced an estimated 200 million barrels of crude over the six months, worth about $20 billion. China took the largest share: its fleet of around 44 million EVs saved $14 billion. EU member states together accounted for a further $3.1 billion.

Among individual European countries, Germany saved roughly $760 million and France about $560 million. The UK displaced around $790 million of crude over the period. In the year before, it had imported about $27 billion (£21.5 billion) worth.

Denmark tells the most striking story once its size is taken into account. As of August 2026, its EV fleet was displacing 6.4 million barrels of oil a year. That equals 13 per cent of everything the country consumed in 2025, the highest share anywhere in Europe.

The wider market is on the up, too. Over the first eight months of 2026, global EV sales rose 11 per cent on the previous year, while sales of combustion-engine vehicles dropped by six per cent.

Euan Graham, a senior energy analyst at Ember, says countries that backed electric vehicles before the crisis are now better shielded from its effects. He adds that a growing number of other nations are following their example.

## Why it matters

An electric car does not run on oil, so each one on the road trims a country's exposure to a market that can lurch when conflict disrupts supply. Across a whole nation, that adds up to a genuine buffer against sudden price rises, and the figures from Ember put a number on it. As fleets grow, so does the protection, which makes the switch to electric a question of energy security as well as cleaner air and lower emissions.