Recently, when I open my social media feed, half of the people are complaining about the rising oil prices, and the other half are asking about test drive times for new energy vehicles. At 00:00 on April 8th, domestic refined oil products ushered in the 7th adjustment of the year and the 6th consecutive increase. No. 92 gasoline rose by 0.33 yuan per liter, and No. 95 gasoline rose by 0.35 yuan per liter. For a family car with a 50-liter fuel tank, filling up a full tank costs at least 16.5 yuan more. This high-level volatility in oil prices, triggered by international geopolitical conflicts and OPEC+ production cuts, not only changes the travel costs of ordinary car owners but also acts as a "catalyst", completely amplifying the core advantages of new energy vehicles and accelerating the industry's transformation from "high-speed expansion" to "high-quality breakthrough".
For ordinary consumers, the most direct impact of the continuous rise in oil prices is the change in their "cost-calculation logic" - in the past, people chose cars based on brand and appearance, but now they first calculate the "oil-electric cost gap". A car owner in Wuhan did a straightforward calculation: driving a fuel-powered car costs more than 1,000 yuan in fuel per month, while after switching to a new energy vehicle, charging with off-peak electricity at night only costs about 100 yuan per month, saving nearly 10,000 yuan a year. Such a gap has been infinitely amplified with the continuous high oil prices: for a family car traveling 20,000 kilometers a year, the fuel cost of a fuel-powered car is about 15,000 yuan, while the home charging cost of a new energy vehicle is only 1,800 yuan, with an annual gap of more than 13,000 yuan. In addition, new energy vehicles do not require maintenance of the engine and gearbox, and the average annual maintenance cost is only 1/5 of that of fuel-powered cars, saving an additional 10,000 yuan or more over 5 years.
The "awakening of cost calculation" on the consumer side has directly translated into the market popularity of new energy vehicles. Data from Jinjiang BYD 4S Store shows that after the oil price rise, the average daily customer flow has tripled, and the average daily orders have soared from 6-7 units to more than 10 units. Many car owners driving old fuel-powered cars have turned to new energy models. New energy stores in cities such as Chongqing and Wuhan have also seen a similar boom, with orders in mainstream brand stores generally increasing by about 20%. The estimated wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles nationwide in March reached 1.12 million units, a significant increase of 55% month-on-month compared with February, and the retail penetration rate even exceeded 50% - meaning that for every two new cars sold, one is a new energy vehicle. This popularity is not limited to domestic markets; globally, the rising oil prices are driving an explosive growth in demand for Chinese new energy vehicles in overseas markets.
The boom in overseas markets has become another dividend brought by the current oil price rise to Chinese new energy vehicles. Affected by the continuous high international oil prices, the operating cost of fuel-powered cars worldwide has increased significantly. With its mature industrial chain and ultra-high cost performance, Chinese new energy vehicles have become the first choice for overseas users. At the Bangkok International Motor Show in Thailand, the total bookings of Chinese auto brands exceeded those of Japanese brands for the first time, with Chinese automakers accounting for 7 out of the top 10 brands. The Prime Minister of Thailand even switched to a BYD electric vehicle to "endorse" Chinese new energy vehicles. In New Zealand, the top three best-selling electric vehicle models in March were all Chinese brands, with Tesla, BYD, and Dongfeng leading the market; in Australia, two Chinese brand cars were among the top 10 best-selling models in March; in the Middle East, the sales of electric vehicles in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have surged by 80%-150% year-on-year, and the market share of Chinese brands in Israel has reached 41.4%.
Data witnesses growth: according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on April 9th, China's passenger car exports in March this year reached 695,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 74.3%, of which new energy vehicles accounted for 50.2% of the total exports, an increase of 14 percentage points compared with the same period in 2025. The export sales of Chery, BYD, and SAIC all exceeded 120,000 units in March. Among them, Chery set a new record for monthly exports by a Chinese automaker with 148,700 units, BYD's overseas sales exceeded 120,000 units, a new high this year, and the cumulative overseas sales in the first quarter accounted for nearly 46% of the total sales. Behind this, in addition to the product strength and supply chain advantages of Chinese automakers, the high oil price operation is undoubtedly a key driver - a research report by CSC Financial pointed out that the blocked navigation of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up crude oil prices, which will enhance the competitiveness of pure electric and low-feed hybrid models globally, and the technological advantages of Chinese automakers are expected to be quickly converted into global market share.
Of course, we also need to view the impact of rising oil prices rationally: it is more like an "amplifier" that magnifies the existing economic advantages of new energy vehicles, but it cannot solve all the existing problems in the industry. On the one hand, the rise in oil prices will push up the overall social logistics and raw material costs, and the price increase of petroleum derivatives such as tires and lubricating oil may indirectly affect the maintenance costs of new energy vehicles; on the other hand, the energy replenishment experience is still a shortcoming. The floating electricity prices of public charging piles during peak hours and the inconvenience of energy replenishment for users without home charging piles will still weaken the willingness of some users to choose new energy vehicles. In addition, car purchase decisions are multi-dimensional, and factors such as vehicle price, residual value rate, and driving range are still the key reasons for hesitation among some consumers.
Fortunately, the new energy vehicle industry has entered the "first year of qualitative change" at present, and technological breakthroughs are continuously making up for shortcomings and strengthening advantages. The 800V high-voltage platform has been fully extended to mainstream models at the 150,000-yuan level. Combined with ultra-fast charging technology, it can achieve "5 minutes of charging, 200-400 kilometers of energy replenishment", completely alleviating the anxiety of energy replenishment; semi-solid-state batteries have been put into mass production, with a cell energy density exceeding 350Wh/kg, a CLTC cruising range of more than 1,000 kilometers, and the attenuation of cruising range at low temperatures controlled within a reasonable range; the commercialization of L3-level autonomous driving has broken through, with full coverage of urban NOA, upgrading the intelligent travel experience. At the same time, the global layout of Chinese automakers is accelerating, moving from "product export" to a new stage of "ecological export and brand export". Seven Chinese automakers including Chery, BYD, and Changan have built factories in Thailand, and BYD and Great Wall have laid out production bases in Brazil, building a global system covering localized production, supply chain coordination, and after-sales services.
The continuous rise in oil prices is not so much an "accidental opportunity" for new energy vehicles as an "inevitable catalyst" for the industry's development. It has allowed more consumers to see the economic advantages of new energy vehicles and fully released the global competitiveness of Chinese new energy vehicles. From the "oil-electric transition" in the domestic market to the "collective breakthrough" in overseas markets, Chinese new energy vehicles are rewriting the global auto industry pattern with multiple advantages in technology, cost, and supply chain.
For ordinary consumers, if you have a fixed daily commute distance and stable energy replenishment conditions, now may be the best time to switch to a new energy vehicle - it can not only save long-term vehicle usage costs but also provide a more convenient and intelligent travel experience; for the industry, the high oil price operation will accelerate industry reshuffling, and those automakers with core technologies, improved supply chains, and global layouts will stand out in the competition.
In the future, with the continuous iteration of technology, the continuous improvement of the energy replenishment system, and the transformation of the global energy structure, the advantages of new energy vehicles will be further highlighted. And this travel revolution triggered by the rise in oil prices is just the beginning - the global breakthrough of Chinese new energy vehicles has only just kicked off.
Company Name: Jingsun Car Co., Ltd
Website: https://www.sin-auto.com/?url=jingsuncar.com
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