Oil prices hit $100 for first time since May: comment

Commenting on the news that oil prices have climbed following strikes between Iran and the US, with Brent crude hitting $100 on Thursday [1] Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Climate & Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: “Oil bouncing back to $100 a barrel is a reminder of the UK’s vulnerability to volatile oil markets with drivers now having faced elevated prices at the pump for months and this looks set to continue or even worsen. Drivers are getting on the front foot both in the UK and EU with sales of new electric cars and demand for second hand EVs surging.
 
“Yet at the very moment that the price of oil surging, and EV sales are accelerating, the Government is rumoured to be considering weakening its electric car sales targets. This could reverse the fall we have been seeing in the upfront price of EVs, and incentivise manufacturers to sell more hybrid vehicles which simply do not offer the savings that they promise in the real world. Plug-in hybrids in particular have been found to burn five times more fuel, and cost hundreds of pounds more a year to run, than their manufacturers claim - meaning the Government could be inadvertently instigating another Dieselgate-style scandal.
 
“Every new EV sold today is a second-hand EV in on average around three years, which offer huge savings over running a petrol car.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2djnzrqk2o 

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net