Car owners turn to EVs as 30-40% of Gulf energy capacity is destroyed

Ed Hudson | Mar 20 2026 - 

France’s Finance Minister confirmed that between 30% and 40% of Gulf refining capacity has been damaged or destroyed by Iran’s retaliatory strikes, leaving a shortage of 11 million barrels per day on global oil markets. The destruction is now pushing consumers toward electric vehicles at a pace not seen since the 2022 gas crisis.

With gas prices approaching $4 per gallon nationally and already past $5 in California, data from multiple sources shows EV interest surging across the board — from Google searches to dealership inquiries.

The scale of the destruction

France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure revealed Wednesday that between 30% and 40% of Gulf refining capacity has been damaged or destroyed, according to France24. The resulting 11-million-barrel-per-day shortage represents the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, per the IEA.

Lescure warned it could take up to three years to restore the damaged facilities and several months just to restart those that were urgently shut down. That timeline matters, this isn’t a temporary price spike that will resolve in weeks.

The IEA responded by issuing an emergency 10-point plan urging consumers to work from home, drive slower, take public transit, and avoid unnecessary air travel. The agency estimates that working from home three additional days per week could reduce individual drivers’ oil consumption by 20%. All 10 measures combined could cut global oil demand by 2.7 million barrels per day — still far short of the 11-million-barrel gap.

The pain at the pump is already severe. AAA data shows the national average hit $3.98 per gallon on March 25, up from $3.11 just weeks earlier — the highest level since 2022. California is at $5.83 per gallon. CNN reported that Americans are cutting back on fresh food, skipping meals, and canceling trips to afford the higher costs.

EV interest spikes across every metric

The consumer response has been swift. Edmunds data shows electrified vehicle consideration hit 23.8% of all shopper research activity for the week of March 9-15 — the highest weekly level of 2026. Online car shoppers were 17% more likely to research an EV than the week before, with most of the increase driven by battery electric vehicles specifically, not just hybrids.

EV search traffic jumped 20% in the first week after the Iran strikes, according to CarEdge. In Australia, Google searches for “electric vehicles” surged 278% between February 27 and March 23.

The used EV market is where the consumer math gets most compelling. Average used EV prices have dropped 35% since 2022 to around $34,600, and roughly 400,000 EV lease returns are expected to flood the market in 2026. February alone saw nearly 31,000 used EVs sold in the US, up 29% year-over-year.

BYD and the global picture

Globally, Chinese EV makers are the biggest beneficiaries. As we reported last week, BYD is seeing a flood of new buyers — one Manila dealership booked a month’s worth of orders in just two weeks, with customers explicitly replacing gas vehicles due to oil price hikes. BYD delivered 4.1 million vehicles in 2025 and is on track to push past 5 million this year.

Both the UK and Germany have signaled that the energy crisis is accelerating their green transitions. Italy’s Prime Minister traveled to Algeria for emergency energy talks. The structural argument is hard to ignore — an Ember analysis found that global EV adoption already avoids 1.7 million barrels per day of oil consumption, equivalent to about 70% of what Iran was exporting through the Strait of Hormuz.