Electric vehicles: a slow-motion car crash for oil firms?

Could electric vehicles be as disruptive to oil and gas firms as renewables are to utilities, and are energy firms taking the risk seriously enough?

In 2007, Germany’s mighty electric utilities appeared invulnerable: they had the power of incumbency, oligopolistic market positions and deep political and regulatory support. But within a decade, the top two – RWE and E.on – had lost more than 80% of their capitalisation amid a low-carbon transition which, while anticipated and planned for, proved far more disruptive and value-destroying than their executives had ever imagined.

The same fate could await other giants of the energy world: oil