Electric cars will wipe out oil demand equal to Iran's output by 2025, Barclays says

Oil consumption could take a major hit in the coming years as a growing number of countries take steps to yank the internal combustion engine from their streets, Barclays analysts forecast.

Adoption of electric vehicles and improved fuel efficiency could wipe out 3.5 million barrels a day of demand from cars by 2025, Barclays commodities analysts projected in a research note on Wednesday. That is roughly equivalent to the total production of OPEC's third-largest producer, Iran, which pumps about 3.8 million barrels a day, Reuters first noted.

If electric vehicles make up one-third of the car market by 2040, it could knock out 9 million barrels a day of demand, or about 90 percent of Saudi Arabia's daily output. World oil demand will be 96.8 million barrels a day this year, OPEC forecasts.

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