Europe’s energy market faces 3 key challenges this year, the IEA’s chief says
Europe may have done a good job in reducing its dependency on Russian oil and gas and mitigating an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine but it’s “not out of the woods” yet, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) told CNBC.
“Europe was able to transform its energy markets, reduce its share of Russian gas to less than 4%, and its economy still didn’t go through a recession,” Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director told CNBC’s Martin Soong on Sunday.
“Europe emissions have declined … and gas storage is at very decent levels,” Birol said, speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Russia has traditionally played a pivotal role in the world’s energy complex, but Western nations’ reliance on the country’s energy has been severely reduced as they continue to unveil new sanctions to punish Russia for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Europe countries did a good job… last winter,” the IEA chief said, highlighting that the region managed to successfully keep the lights on and kept a winter crisis at bay, thanks in part to a milder than expected winter.
Birol warned that the region’s energy market still has three main hurdles to overcome this year, however.
1. Rising demand from China
The world’s energy supply was abundant last year when China was still under lockdown and bought less oil and gas due to a slowdown in economic activity. However, the same cannot be said now and Europe may face a more challenging winter this year.
LNG (liquefied natural gas) demand from China is expected to pick up in the second half of the year, Birol said, adding that gas imports to the country is a “key determiner” of demand for natural gas markets.
But Birol believed there could be a silver lining — prices could be milder than predicted and he does not expect to see a “big boom” of imports from China.
2. U.S. debt default
Global energy market participants are also keeping a close eye on fractious negotiations between the White House and Republicans over the U.S. debt ceiling. Without a deal, the U.S. could face default in early June although this is seen as unlikely.
Negotiations were paused while President Biden attended the G-7 summit in Japan but he’s due to return to Washington, D.C. on Sunday. The president said at a press conference at the summit that he’s “not at all” concerned about the negotiations and that “we’ll be able to avoid a default and we’ll get something decent done.”
Birol said a U.S. debt default would cause oil demand and prices to drop, but agreed that such a scenario was unlikely.
“I would avoid giving you a precise number, but we could expect a significant drop in the oil price if we see such a default.”
“This issue in the United States will be dealt with and common sense will prevail. And I don’t see a major risk for the global oil markets. But of course, oil markets are always involved with risks.” he added.
Oil prices rebounded on Friday from losses of more than 1% the previous day as investors turned cautiously optimistic that the risks of a U.S. debt default were easing as talks continued.
3. Reliance on Russia still remains
Another key challenge facing Europe’s energy markets is that their dependency on Russian gas has not been completely eradicated and the outlook for supply is uncertain.
Many countries in the region were forced into an energy crisis last year when imports of Russian gas were severely reduced.
Gas exports from Russian state energy giant Gazprom to Switzerland and the EU fell by 55% in 2022, the company said in January. Birol noted that if there were further reductions in gas imports “for political reasons,” Europe could again face “some challenges” in the coming winter.
Birol believed G-7 and European countries will not go back into making any agreements with Russia, adding that Russia’s gas story is “finished.” “It’s over,” he said.
New EVs got a little more expensive in April, and consumers saw fewer deals than before, according to new estimates from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.
In April, the average transaction price (ATP) for a new EV climbed to $59,255. That’s up 3.7% from the same time last year, and slightly higher, by 0.2%, than in March. Kelley Blue Book even revised March’s average price downward to $59,132.
Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, noted that “Ever since President Trump announced auto tariffs 47 days ago, the cost of new cars has been steadily climbing.”
At the same time, incentives took another dip. They made up just 11.6% of the average EV transaction price in April, down from 13.9% when they peaked in November 2024. This marks the second month in a row that EV incentives have declined.
Tesla led the way in May, selling more than 45,000 EVs – its best performance of the year so far. Most of those sales came from the updated Model Y, which continues to dominate the US EV market. Tesla’s average transaction price rose in April to $56,120, up both month over month and year over year.
Meanwhile, the Cybertruck, once the top-selling EV priced over $100,000, had an average sales price of $89,247 last month. But sales dropped below 2,000 units for the first time in a year, signaling a potential cool-off for the controversial pickup.
Overall, new EV sales in April were down nearly 6% from March, based on Kelley Blue Book’s early estimates. But year-to-date EV sales in 2025 are still up 5.4% compared to the same period in 2024.
Read more: Tesla Model 3 and Model Y prices rose higher in March as sales fell
Now is a great time to begin your solar journey so your system is installed in time for those longer sunny days. If you want to make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate partner
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The EV3 is already one of the top-selling EVs in Europe and Korea, but when will Kia bring it to the US? After it was recently spotted testing on US streets, the Kia EV3 could finally make its North American debut soon. Here’s what we know.
When will the Kia EV3 make its North American debut?
Kia’s compact electric SUV was again the top-selling EV in Korea last month. It’s also currently among the best-selling electric cars in Europe.
Kia sold 27,761 EVs in Europe in the first quarter, up 17% from the previous record set in Q3 2023. The EV3 led the surge with 17,878 models sold, or 64% of Kia’s total electric vehicle sales in the region.
In March, the EV3 was also the best-selling retail electric car in the UK, driving Kia’s EVs to a record 21% share of its total sales. With the EV3 rolling out in other global markets, like Australia and New Zealand, when will it finally arrive in the US?
After the Kia EV3 was recently spotted testing on US streets, its North American debut could finally be coming up soon.
The new video from KindelAuto shows the 2026 Kia EV6 GT-Line trim, but with what appears to be the US-spec model. Despite the camo, you can see the EV3 has minor design changes, like added orange side reflectors, which are likely to meet regulations.
Although Kia has yet to confirm it, the EV3 could make its North American debut as early as later this year and launch in early 2026. Prices will be revealed closer to its debut, but the EV3 will likely start at around $35,000 to $40,000.
Kia’s smaller electric SUV starts at around 36,000 euros ($40,000) in Europe and roughly $30,700 in Korea (KRW 42.08 million).
In the meantime, those in North America will see Kia’s first electric sedan, the EV4, arrive next year. Kia confirmed the 2026 EV4 will have a built-in NACS port to access Tesla Superchargers and an estimated driving range of up to 330 miles. Prices are also expected to start at around $35,000 to $40,000.
Source: KindelAuto, TheKoreanCarBlog
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Less than a year after officially launching in the US, the 2025 Audi Q6 e-tron has received its safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). According to the German automaker, its compact luxury crossover has been awarded Top Safety Pick+ status—the highest possible rating from the IIHS.
The Q6 e-tron remains the newest edition to Audi’s long-running all-electric segment of sedans, GTs, and SUVs. We first caught wind of it back in March 2024 when Audi teased a shadowy image while promising the Q6 e-tron would “overtake expectations.”
The 2025 Q6 e-tron made its official debut last September. The lineup includes an RWD version that delivers the longest range (321 miles) of any Audi BEV. At that point, the Q6 e-tron had received a five-star safety rating from the Euro NCAP, but until today, we were still awaiting its rating from the IIHS.
Today, Audi confirmed that the 2025 Q6 e-tron is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ – the best you can get.
Audi Q6 e-tron wins Top Safety Pick+ amidst higher criteria
When announcing the award status from the IIHS, Audi pointed out that the US institute altered its Top Safety Pick+ criteria for 2025 models, making the top-tier award harder to achieve. This included a new focus on rear-passenger safety and a moderate overlap front collision test, which simulates a head-on collision, whereas the test vehicle strikes a vehicle of equal size and weight at 40 mph with 40% of the front widths of those vehicles overlapping.
The compact crossover achieved a “good” (the highest IIHS) rating on all tests, warranting the Top Safety Pick+ status. As such, the IIHS has deemed the Q6 e-tron one of the safest all-electric models on the road.
The 2025 Q6 e-tron starts at $63,800 in the US and is currently available in three trimlines and a Premium quattro powertrain configuration.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway