Rising fuel prices are pushing a growing number of UK drivers towardselectric cars, with Renault reporting a huge increase in enquiries that are converting to sales – especially of its popular Renault 5 model.
Current average fuel prices according to the RAC are 156.98p per litre for unleaded and 188.53p per litre for diesel. However, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said that the increase is down to oil prices rather than greedy retailers boostingmarkets.
Renault has revealed a sharp increase in interest, with the company’s UK managing director Adam Wood tellingThe Independentthat enquiries are up 42 per cent since the start of the Middle East conflict on 28 February.
“In the last eight weeks compared to the prior eight weeks, we’ve seen an increase of 42 per cent in terms of visitors toelectric carpages on the website,” said Wood. “The Renault 5, for example, for the month of April is expected to be the best-selling EV in the UK and our EV mix for the month as a brand is just under 50 per cent.”
Rather than the interest being a flash in the pan, Wood feels that the interest is likely to be sustained over the longer term. “I think this is a catalyst for what I still think is an underlying trend of growing demand forelectric cars,” he toldThe Independent. “I think a virtuous circle is starting to build.
“The first point is we're investing in bringing more and more affordable vehicles to the marketplace. We've seen with the Renault 5, which starts from £21,495, that we're lowering the glass ceiling of adoption to more and more people in the UK – we're bringing electric vehicles within more reach. I think that's having a positive effect.
“We've then got the additional impact of the government’s Electric Car Grant. So you combine accessible list pricing, coupled with attractive incentives from the government. Then comes this gradual balance of ownership cost tipping in favour of electric as fuel prices continue to rise, and I think that's created a virtuous circle.
“The other thing that I think is having an impact is word of mouth. We're seeing this now as more and more electric vehicles hit the roads, and we're about to cross the 11,000 barrier for the number of Renault 5s out the road.
“We know, and also Autotrader data shows it, 90 per cent of the people who've gone electric would never go back. And two thirds of those say that they could see a tangible, demonstrable improvement in the quality of charging in the last year. We're now reaching around about 120,000 charge points in the UK. The vast majority are also giving rapid charge capability. So that confidence in charging is also playing a vital role in convincing more people that it is a practical and viable proposition to go electric.”
Wood wouldn’t be drawn on exact figures, but it’s understood that Renault is on target to achieve the government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate target of 33 per cent of all sales being fully electric in 2026. And although Renault 4 sales are some way off those of the Renault 5, interest in that model is growing. The Renault Scenic is also eligible for the higher rate of ECG and the brilliant new Renault Twingo is still set to arrive towards the end of this year.
Despite the increase in demand for Renault’s EV models, Wood promised that customers would not be waiting too long for their new EVs. If somebody ordered a new Renault 5 in early May, they may still get their car delivered in May. “We've got good availability of Renault 5 for us,” he said. “Supply at the moment is not an issue.”
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Other data has reinforced the increasing interest in EVs, with figures from Octopus Electric Vehicles showing that enquiries for EV leasing have jumped by 36 per cent since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.
At the same time, data from Autotrader points to a similar trend among car buyers, with new EV leads up 28 per cent in less than a month and used EV enquiries rising by 15 per cent.
The backdrop is a noticeable rise in fuel prices, with petrol climbing to £1.48 per litre and diesel reaching £1.73 per litre – among the highest levels seen in the past year. While still below the peaks recorded in 2022, the latest increases appear to be having an immediate effect on consumer behaviour.
Autotrader’s data shows that used EVs aged between zero and five years now account for 19.5 per cent of all leads in that segment – the highest share on record. That’s particularly striking given that electric cars still make up only around 5 per cent of vehicles currently on UK roads.
Industry figures suggest that drivers are increasingly looking for ways to reduce exposure to fluctuating fuel costs, with EVs offering more predictable running expenses. Electricity prices can be fixed through tariffs, and smart charging can further reduce costs by shifting energy use to cheaper, off-peak periods.
On tariffs such as Octopus’s Intelligent Octopus Go, drivers can save hundreds of pounds a year compared with running a petrol or diesel car, according to the company, thanks to lower overnight charging rates.
The shift towards electric is also reflected in the wider new car market, where EVs now account for around one in four new registrations in the UK – a share that continues to grow as more models come to market and infrastructure improves.
“Drivers are feeling the pinch every time they fill up their tank,” said Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles. “We’re seeing a real shift – people want certainty over their bills. Leasing an electric car gives drivers a simple, affordable way to break free from unpredictable fuel prices.”
Autotrader is seeing similar behaviour among buyers browsing its platform. Ian Plummer, chief customer officer at Autotrader, said: “Even though petrol prices aren’t anywhere near the extremes of 2022 yet, the Iran conflict has clearly moved fuel costs to the front of buyers’ minds. Our data shows a sharp rise in both new and used EV leads since the war began at the end of February, with used EV enquiries hitting record levels on the Autotrader marketplace.”
The trend extends beyond cars. Octopus Energy reported a 27 per cent increase in solar enquiries in the early days of the conflict, suggesting that households are also looking more broadly at ways to manage their energy costs.
With global energy markets remaining uncertain, the latest figures point to a growing link between fuel price volatility and demand for electric vehicles – with drivers increasingly drawn to the promise of lower and more predictable running costs.