Autotrader warns ‘sugar rush’ caused by soaring fuel prices isn’t enough to secure long-term driver interest.
Barriers to electric car adoption need to be removed to ensure the current spike in interest does not fall away again, according to Autotrader.
The new and used car marketplace found that EVs were the most popular fuel type on its platform in the second quarter of the year but warned that the “significant” uptick in interest could prove temporary without more reassurance and support for motorists.
Soaring fuel prices have seen drivers drawn to the cheaper running costs of EVs. Autotrader data for the three months to the end of May show that EVs took a 27% share of new car enquiries – the largest single proportion and far higher than the 18% seen in the same period in 2025 – as the Iran war pushed fuel prices to their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Autorader noted that growth massively outstripped the market in April, with 125% growth year-on-year, compared to 31% for the broader new car market.
However, the platform’s chief customer officer Ian Plummer warned the conflict-driven “sugar rush” could crash due to a lack of driver confidence, with Autotrader’s Road to 2030 report finding just 10% of recent petrol or diesel car buyers even considered an electric car.
Plummer noted: “There’s a real risk geopolitical forces are causing a temporary sugar rush for the UK’s EV market as buyers respond to soaring petrol prices.
“We shouldn’t rely on international conflict to boost this transition – we’ve seen previous spikes in electric interest driven by petrol price hikes simply don’t last and there’s no guarantee this boost is here to stay. When only 10% of recent car buyers considered an electric car, we’ve got problems.”
The Road to 2030 report found that upfront cost and charging concerns remained obstacles to driver interest in EVs. It found that 84% of recent car buyers think electric cars are expensive to buy and 69% think charging is still inconvenient.
That’s despite Autotrader figures showing that in March and April the average new price of EVs was lower than petrol models, and in May the difference was just £13 in petrol’s favour, compared with a gap of £3,607 in the same period in 2025.
Used market needs support
While most attention is focused on the new car market, Plummer said that attention and support should be given to the used car market, where three-quarters of drivers buy their cars.
He called for some of the current Electric Car Grant – which gives discounts of up to £3,750 – to be diverted from the new market to the used car sector. He also urged the Government to pause the introduced of the pay-per-mile eVED scheme for fear that it will discourage drivers from making the switch.
He said: “Electric mass adoption is an exciting opportunity to change how we drive but we must be aware of the realities, there’s a chance the sales boost we’re seeing now will dry up future interest so we must work to address underlying barriers to adoption – we can’t rely on a war to stimulate demand.
“The new research also highlights that thousands of people on lower household incomes are still being left behind. With less than five years to go until the ban on new petrol and diesel cars, the Government should do more to ensure an accessible and equitable transition.”
‘Issue is communication, not confidence’
Tanya Sinclair, CEO of Electric Vehicles UK, said many of the issues raised in the Autotrader report were about communication rather than real problems.
She commented: “The Autotrader report highlights real barriers, but let’s be careful not to let legitimate concerns harden into a narrative that overstates consumer resistance. When only 10% of non-EV buyers say they considered going electric, that’s not just a confidence problem; it’s an information problem. EVUK exists to correct exactly that.
“The facts are increasingly compelling: the average new EV is now price-competitive with petrol, ranges have passed 300 miles, and the public charging network has more than 120,000 charge points.
“When drivers get accurate information rather than outdated myths, interest leads to decisive change. The demand is real, and the sales data shows it’s growing. We don’t need geopolitical shocks to make the EV case. The EV case makes itself.”
