Greater product awareness and technological changes could fast track the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) that could plausibly lead to a peak oil demand before 2030, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday. Although this is not the rating agency’s core scenario for EVs growth and market penetration, Fitch warned that EVs adoption is nevertheless “an increasing threat to oil demand.” Continued decline in battery costs, government policies, and consumer preferences led to a flurry of EV announcements last year, and car manufacturers and governments set ambitious EV targets, Fitch said. As early as in October 2016, Fitch said that “A leap forward in technology could transform the viability of electric vehicles (EVs) as an alternative to the internal combustion engine. This would be resoundingly credit negative for the oil sector, as transport accounts for 55% of oil consumption.” Now Fitch has revisited the October 2016 scenarios and incorporated both conservative […]