Oil Demand Stays Strong Despite EV Surge Despite record-breaking EV sales in China and Norway, oil demand remains strong. In November 2024 alone, the Chinese market once again beat its previous record set in October by over 50,000 vehicles to reach almost 1.3 million EVs sold, EV research house Rho Motion said earlier this month. And yet, crude oil demand in this biggest of all EV markets in the world is still on the rise. Last year, 82.4% of all new passenger cars sold in Norway were fully electric, up from 79.3% in 2022, according to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the Norwegian Road Federation. This share has jumped to over 90% this year, but the impact on Norway’s oil demand “has been negligible,” bank UBS said earlier in the year. The reality of oil demand is that it underpins everything, including EV manufacturing, given the multitude of petroleum derivatives that EVs feature. One could go as far as to say there could be no energy transition without the very hydrocarbons that transition advocates want to do away with and that would be a statement of fact. This is why oil demand growth may moderate in the coming years but it would be a while yet before it starts declining. (Source: Oilprice)