Oil price hike doubles sales of electric cars in Brazil, says IEA

Global sales of electric cars hit a record in the second quarter of 2026, driven by the rise in oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East. This is what the report Electric Car Markets in a Time of Uncertainty, released on July 30 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), points out.

According to the agency, 50 countries recorded record sales of electric vehicles between April and June. Brazil is among the five major markets in which registrations practically doubled between March and June, over the same period in 2025, alongside Australia, India, South Korea and Vietnam.

The advance came despite the retraction of the sector. Total auto sales fell about 5% in the first half, driven by China and the United States. Electric vehicles also retreated in the first quarter, but recovered in the second, with an increase of 35% over the previous three months. More than 90 countries had annual growth in the semester.

Expensive fuel has become a sales argument

The conflict that began on February 28 led the barrel of oil to hit US$ 100 in March and put the cost of fuel back at the center of the purchase decision. The IEA recalls that road transport accounts for almost half of the world’s oil consumption.

With the new scenario and the maintenance of incentives in Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, the agency revised the year’s projection: electric vehicles should account for 29% of global car sales in 2026, one percentage point higher than forecast in May.

China accumulates electric fuel stock

The report also points to a brake on China. For the first time in this decade, electric sales in the country should be stable in the annual comparison, even though more than 60% of the cars sold there are electric, an all-time record.

Chinese electric exports in the semester almost matched the total for 2025. The IEA estimates that only two-thirds of those units have been sold, leaving more than 1 million cars available in global markets.