促成中国石油需求下降的核心驱动之一是电动汽车（EV）的快速普及。传统燃油车的销量已降至2010年以来的最低水平，而五月份销售的汽车中，有超过60%是插电式混合动力或纯电动汽车。
此外，中国化学工业的转型也大幅减少了石油消耗。由于石脑油短缺，化学工业转向生产聚合物并减少了初级塑料的产出，这相当于每日减少了约70万桶的石油需求，而这些变化都可以透过已公开的数据得到解释。
China's oil market has peaked, and its sharply declining appetite for petroleum has been the single biggest factor keeping the global crude market balanced since the Strait of Hormuz closed. The drop in oil demand reached nearly 5 million barrels a day in May, significantly easing pressures on global energy markets. (Key numbers: 500)
A primary driver behind China's decreasing oil consumption is the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Sales of conventional combustion-engine cars have plunged to their lowest levels since 2010, while over 60% of the vehicles sold in May were plug-in models.
Additionally, a structural shift in China's chemical industry has notably reduced oil demand. Facing a naphtha shortage, the industry pivoted toward polymer manufacturing and cut primary plastics output, displacing the equivalent of about 700,000 barrels of oil per day, a transition that is fully explainable by public data. (Key numbers: 70)