Oil Giant Exxon Thinks Every New Passenger Car Sold Will Be Electric By 2040

Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) is predicting every new passenger car sold globally by 2040 will be an electric vehicle, CNBC reported, citing CEO Darren Woods.

What Happened: ExxonMobil estimates global oil demand in 2040 would be equivalent to what the world needed in 2013 or 2014, according to the report.

Wood said ExxonMobil was still profitable at that time, adding that the company is evaluating how the decline in gasoline sales could impact its business and that chemicals will be key to keeping the company profitable during the clean energy transition. 

Exxon Mobil claims it is the largest “refiner and marketer of petroleum products,” as well as a chemicals company.

See Also: EVs For ICE: How Tesla Is Drawing More China Buyers Into Greener Side

Why It Matters: Current EV leader Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has set in motion a global push towards electrification. Legacy players such as General Motors Co (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F), Volkswagen Group (OTC: VWAGY) and others are setting aside billions of dollars and assigning tighter deadlines to switch to making electric vehicles. 

Gas prices have also crossed record highs in the United States due to soaring crude oil amid the Russia-Ukraine war and high demand.

Chinese electric vehicle startups Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV), BYD Co (OTC: BYDDY) and others have rushed ahead of legacy rivals and successfully established EV products, supply chains and have been trying to grow sales in China and overseas. 

Price Action: XOM closed 1.98% higher at $86.9 on Friday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.