(Bloomberg) -- China’s gasoline demand is set to peak in 2023, two years earlier than expected following the rapid adoption of new-energy vehicles, according to the nation’s largest fuel distributor and seller.

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are expected to displace 15 million tons of oil products this year, Zhou Yan, an official with Sinopec’s retail fuel sales unit, said at a conference in Zhengzhou on Friday. Mileage of NEVs over the first half of the year jumped 80% compared with the same period in 2022.

The faster-than-expected peak is another blow for global oil demand, which has grappled with a lackluster Chinese economic recovery following the end of Covid restrictions and concerns over a US recession. NEV taxis and ride-hailing cars have had a big impact on fuel consumption in China, Zhou said.

In June, China National Petroleum Corp. estimated the nation’s use of transport fuels would peak in 2025. The country’s biggest oil and gas producer also forecast gasoline demand would likely exceed 2019 levels this year.

China recently introduced a series of measures to increase car purchases, particularly NEVs, to lift economic growth. Sales climbed 37% to 3.1 million units in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2022, while internal combustion engine car sales declined.

The Asian nation’s oil demand growth is expected to slip to 940,000 barrels a day in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period in 2022, according to a presentation from CNPC at the Zhengzhou conference on Thursday. 

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