Tehran [Iran], March 27: Petrol price spikes triggered by the war in Iran are boosting used electric vehicle sales across Europe, online car platforms told Reuters, in an early sign that pain at the pump is pushing consumers away from combustion engines. "There is currently an electric car bonanza in the used market," said Terje Dahlgren, an analyst at Norway's largest used-car marketplace Finn.no, adding that EVs have recently overtaken diesel models as the site's best-selling fuel type.
The war, which erupted on February 28, has disrupted a vital shipping route that carries roughly 20 percent of global oil supplies. That has fed straight through to filling-station prices, with the average cost of petrol in the European Union rising 12 percent to 1.84 euros per liter from February 23 to March 16, European Commission data show. French online used-car retailer Aramisauto said its share of EV sales almost doubled from the week starting February 16 to the week starting March 9, rising to 12.7 percent from 6.5 percent.
Majority-owned by automaker Stellantis, the company saw a similar shift in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine and energy prices jumped, CEO Romain Boscher said.
"As soon as you pass 2 euros, it makes a lasting impression on people's minds," he said. "We are seeing a significant rise in interest on the website, translating into orders for EVs and hybrids." Over the same three weeks, petrol models on Aramisauto fell to 28 percent of sales from 34 percent, while diesels dropped to 10 percent from 14 percent.
EV makers are already highlighting the cost of petrol in their marketing. In France, MG, owned by China's SAIC, is running social-media ads declaring "it may be time to rethink the way you drive". Consumers appear to be responding.Amsterdam-based Olx said customer enquiries for EVs have jumped across its marketplaces in France (50 percent), Romania (40 percent), Portugal (54 percent) and Poland (39 percent), with growth "accelerating consistently week-over-week across all markets".
"What's particularly telling is that EV interest was already trending upward before recent events," Olx CEO Christian Gisy said. "The instability appears to have accelerated a transition that was already underway." Europe's used-EV landscape has also broadened.
A wider range of models and the spread of battery-health certificates have helped address buyer concerns about second-hand EVs, supporting sales even before the war began.
Used EV sales tend to react quickly to shifts in sentiment or sharp moves in petrol prices because they are up to 40 percent cheaper than new models and readily available to drive off the lot, unlike new cars that often take months to deliver.
"Considering the lead time of a vehicle purchase, we expect this momentum to continue as the market fully absorbs the impact of recent global events," said Alastair Campbell, vice president of growth at British automotive data firmMarketcheck.
Source: Qatar Tribune