Why oil's march toward $100 is coming at the right time for electric cars

Oil’s march toward $100 a barrel is coming at just the right the time for auto makers investing billions in the switch to electric cars. Fuel prices reached a four-year high last month, concentrating consumers’ minds on the relative costs of internal combustion versus electric motors. For companies preparing to bring a record number of electric and hybrid models to market in 2019, oil’s rally could turbocharge demand. “The higher the price of oil the more tailwind we’re going to have behind electric cars,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. said at the Paris Motor Show on Wednesday. As production of the Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 grabs all the attention, carmakers in Asia, Europe and the U.S. plan new models across all market segments in 2019, from cheap city runabouts to high-performance roadsters. Germany’s car giants are all readying new models. Audi is slated to start selling the e-tron sport-utility vehicle later this year, while Mercedes will follow with the EQC in 2019. BMW’s Mini unit also plans to release the much-anticipated Mini Electric hatchback.