Two conflicting articles in yesterday's FT regarding oil and EVs

Big oil corporations say shift to EVs is nothing to worry about…

An FT story reporting the complacent and wholly unsurprising views of Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell - namely that electric cars aren’t going to trouble oil demand any day soon is refuted by another article in the same paper which sets out how the big three players in the catalytic converter industry are directing all their efforts (and, more importantly, R&D spend) towards electric vehicle technology.

EVs are an existential threat to Saudi Aramco at a time when it is gearing up to float a large stake on the London stock market. Shell is less vulnerable but a wholesale shift to EVs will hit its revenues hard. The three manufacturers of catalytic technology have more diversified revenue streams and have decided that EVs are more likely to offer the opportunity for revenue growth than making devices which scrub some of the nasty stuff from the exhausts of petrol and diesel cars.

You can read both stories here and make up your own mind as to which is calling in wrong. Shell and  Aramco’s delusions here and the plans of Johnson Matthey and BASF here.

It’ll be interesting to compare the share prices of Royal Dutch Shell and Johnson Matthey in five years time.