I don't know if their statement is universally true, but the EPA's fuel economy / total emissions calculator seems to show it for what I've put in. You can put in a Prius or random EV and see how they compare.

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths#Myth1

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=bt2

[–] lustyargonian@lemm.ee 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

My guess would be the efficiency of coal power plants (35%) and electricity transmission (90%) + battery charging of an EV (80%) would be more than efficiency of transporting oil in ships (50%) , then in an ICE truck (40%) to fuel pumps and then finally the efficiency of the ICE car (40%).

I picked the numbers from internet, but they seem plausible.