High gasoline prices are giving a boost to China’s electric‑vehicle exports. One group that doesn’t want the Iran war to end soon is China’s EV makers. They began the year with a glut of EVs on their hands and weak demand at home.\n\nThe Middle East crisis is helping them export excess supply overseas, where high gasoline prices prompt more drivers to buy EVs.

Traditional carmakers are losing market share as this shift accelerates.\n\nChina’s EV exports rose 120% in the first half of 2026 from the same period of last year, IEA data shows. EV sales have roughly doubled in Brazil, Australia, Korea and Vietnam since the war began, and in Colombia sales quadrupled.\n\nThe energy agency now expects EVs to make up 29% of new‑car sales globally in 2026, up from 25% last year. In China, more than half of all new cars sold are now electric.