While Australian motorists continue to struggle amid an ongoing fuel crisis, Chinese drivers are enjoying the benefits of largely perfected electric-powered cars.
American journalist Jason Smith shared a video from China on Sunday showing off the country’s ‘fast charging stations’ which he claimed could fully charge an electric vehicle in nine minutes.
‘Fully charged within 9 minutes, with a range of 600km,’ Smith captioned the video.
‘There is no oil crisis in China.
‘Many of these are roadside, and powered directly by on site solar panels.’
While Smith’s claims there is ‘no oil crisis in China’ is an exaggeration, CEO of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association James Voortman agreed the country’s higher use of EVs has left it more resilient to fuel shortages than Australia.
‘The electric vehicle market in China is a lot better developed than most other countries in the world … they lead the world in the production of them,’ Mr Voortman told News.com.au.
‘Nothing focuses people more than financial motivation and at the moment the operating costs of a petrol and diesel vehicle are very expensive.’
A video has circulated of China’s new fast charging EV stations by BYD
China produces more than 70 per cent of the world’s EVs
He added Australia was slow to introduce incentives to encourage drivers to switch to EVs and even slower to introduce the necessary infrastructure – like abundant charging stations.
‘Australia is really late to the party in terms of incentivising EV uptakes. They’ve only been doing it for the last three or four years through the fringe benefit tax discount and some state incentives,’ he said.
More than 17-million electric cars were sold across the world in 2024, making up 20 per cent of all global car sales – according to data from The International Energy Agency.
China alone sold more than 11-million EVs in 2024, compared to just 157,000 sales in Australia in 2025.
That low number of EV sales means Australia is especially vulnerable to fuel market disruptions, like that caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz – which 20 per cent of the world’s oil travels through.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Tuesday said at least 600 service stations had run out of one type of fuel.
However, data released by the NSW and Victorian governments on Wednesday revealed 500 servos had run dry in the two states alone.
The situation is so dire Japan, which has 250 days of fuel supply in reserve, offered to help if Australia’s fuel shortage worsens any further.
While Australia is struggling to keep cars on the road amid an ongoing fuel crisis, China’s EV use has insulated it (pictured is Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese)
At least 600 service stations around Australia have run out of one type of fuel
The offer could be in the form of a potential liquified natural gas (LNG) swap for fuel.
But Japan’s ambassador to Australia stopped short of making a firm commitment.
‘We really need to see the market situation in Australia first and then we need to deepen our communication between the two countries,’ Kazuhiro Suzuki, told a Minerals Council of Australia conference on Wednesday.
‘Maybe we could collaborate and then do something together. That’s the only answer that I can give to you now.’
He added that its existing supply of oil to Australia had not stopped.
‘We are continuing to supply our oils, but in the future, we probably need to have a further communication as to, you know, what we can do together,’ Mr Suzuki said.
It comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a joint statement with Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong, affirming the two nations’ commitment to energy security.
Mr Suzuki neither embraced or ruled out possibility of a similar arrangement between Japan and Australia.
China has blocked refined oil exports (pictured is Chinese President Xi Jinping)
Two-thirds of EVs sold in China are cheapre than their petrol-powered equivilants
‘I don’t think [we’re at] that stage,’ he said.
While China still relies on oil imports, its widespread use of electric cars makes it more resilient to global affairs.
On top of that, the Asian superpower produces more than 70 per cent of the world’s EVs and fierce market competition has made the vehicles incredibly affordable.
In fact, two thirds of electric vehicles sold in China are cheaper than their petrol equivalents.
China’s infrastructure is also significantly ahead of Australia’s.
Popular manufacturer BYD this month announced its Flash Chargers could charge some EV batteries from 10 per cent to 70 per cent in five minutes and from 10 per cent to fully charged within nine minutes.
That charge offers drivers about 1,000km of range.
In comparison, Australia’s ‘fast’ EV chargers offer drivers about 350km of range in 15 minutes.
Australian leaders have insisted its fuel shortages are being driven by panic buying, not systematic failure
China is also making moves to protect its domestic refined oil – something Australia gave up on more than a decade ago.
According to Geoscience Australia as of 2024, Australia had an estimated six year’s worth of crude oil production left in the ground but only two refineries in the country.
Meaning, Australia sends most of its crude oil overseas to be refined into fuel.
China is able to refine its own oil so when news of a global oil crisis made headlines, it closed its exports.
The ban was announced on March 13 and is expected to continue through to the end of the month.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has repeatedly insisted Australia’s shortages are being driven by a sudden spike in demand caused by panic buying, rather than a collapse in supply.
‘We have as much fuel in Australia today as we had on the day Iran was attacked. We have had real issues, particularly in regional Australia, getting fuel to where demand has been very high,’ Bowen said.
‘We’ve seen very big spikes in demand. Some of that has been panic buying. Some people are trying to get ahead of expected price rises. Some farmers are stocking up, which is understandable.
‘But the fact is, if demand suddenly jumps dramatically, whether it’s for petrol, diesel or even toilet paper – supply chains come under pressure.’
