Europe could avoid importing 190 million barrels of oil every year by 2030, generating around €12 billion in annual savings, if it delivers on its electric vehicle targets, according to new analysis released today by E-Mobility Europe and Ember.
Achieving those savings depends on meeting the EU’s deployment goals for 2030: 35 million battery electric cars, 3 million commercial vehicles, and 200,000 electric trucks on European roads.
With road transport accounting for two-thirds of the EU’s total oil demand, the switch from combustion to electric vehicles is the ‘fastest, most efficient and most scalable route’ to cut consumption, the report states.
The benefits are already visible. In 2025, battery electric vehicles registered in the EU displaced 57 million barrels of oil, avoiding approximately €4 billion in wealth being transferred outside the bloc’s borders. This year alone, the 1 million newly registered EVs have cut consumption by a further 4 million barrels.
Chris Heron, Secretary General of E-Mobility Europe, said: ‘Europe must decide: do we continue to relinquish our strategic autonomy to other regions, or will we act with laser focus to capture the full benefits of electric security? As a continent, we need to decide who we want to be, get back in the EV driving seat, and deliver long-term resilience’.
The report outlines five priorities that must be delivered together to ensure full electric security:
1. Deploy – put more electric cars, vans and trucks on Europe’s roads
2. Build – strengthen Europe’s EV industrial base
3. Power – make electricity the affordable fuel of transport
4. Flex – turn EVs into energy assets
5. Protect – secure the digital backbone of mobility
The authors warn that deeper resilience is needed to avoid creating new dependencies. They point to the European Commission’s upcoming Electrification Action Plan as a milestone opportunity to deliver a more focused strategy and put Europe back on an irreversible electrification path.
The analysis comes as Europe’s automotive package is debated against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and energy price volatility, with campaigners warning that weakening EV targets would deepen the continent’s reliance on imported oil.
The full report can be read here.