Americans’ Gas-Guzzling Habit Will Peak In 2018

While the total number of cars on the road will increase in the coming years, experts predict that the United States’ oil usage will peak next year. That’s because the growing popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles along with ever-increasing (government-mandated, at least for now) fuel economy standards mean that the our gasoline usage will peak next year, and fall from there.

Americans are still opting for larger cars than they might if they remembered that gas prices will probably go back up. However, Reuters reports that consultants at WoodMackenzie in Scotland figured out that we can expect to use less gas starting next year.

“We expect gasoline engine efficiency to continue to improve through better deployment of batteries in hybrid vehicles,” an expert at WoodMackenzie explained. As batteries and ranges improve on plug-in hybrid vehicles, they’ll replace some gas-powered and gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

Globally, petroleum usage will reach its peak later. As more people in the developing world get their own cars, demand for fuel is expected to peak by 2028, or even the 2030s, depending on which expert you ask.

Petroleum is still used to produce plastic, which is still in demand, and to power mass transit vehicles like buses, so there are more factors involved than individual drivers and their needs.