Europe’s EV sales jump as Middle East war drives gas prices near 2022 highs

Europe’s EV sales jump as Middle East war drives gas prices near 2022 highs

Automotive News Europe — 2026-05-07

Automotive Industry

The conflict in the Middle East is starting to have an effect on the European auto market, with demand for new and used electric vehicles soaring as fuel prices reach levels not seen since 2022.

Fuel prices are up 19 percent in Europe this year through April because of the war, investment bank Jefferies said in a May 7 report. At the same time, the cost of charging an EV at home or at a high-powered highway station has remained relatively flat, Jeffries said.

The surge in fuel costs is making battery-electric vehicles more economical for European drivers. Home charging now costs 53 percent less than filling a gasoline tank — about €6.50 ($7.65) versus about €13.25 ($15.60) per 100 km (62 miles) — creating what the insurance giant Allianz calls “a powerful advertisement for electrification.”

The price for a high-speed charging station is the same as gasoline; until recently it was €2 more expensive. Jefferies said.

Allianz said in a report May 5 that at current market conditions, switching to an EV “would offer material energy consumption savings equivalent to a 4–5 percent purchasing-power gain per capita on average in Western Europe.” It said that was “not negligible in an inflationary environment.”

Fuel prices in Europe are nearing highs last seen after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Allianz said. Each “price shock” pushes more and more drivers toward EVs and plug-in hybrids", the insurer said.

Sales of full-electric vehicles grew by 15 percent in January and 19 percent in February in the 16 largest European markets tracked by Jefferies representing 95 percent of all sales in the EU, U.K. and EFTA countries. That figure jumped by 43 percent in March and 37 percent in April following the start of the conflict at the end of February, according to Jefferies.
 

Germany, UK, France see rise in EV volumes

Electric-vehicle sales were up 59 percent year-over-year in April in the U.K., up 41 percent in Germany and 28 percent in France, figures from national associations show.

EV penetration now stands at 22 percent across the 16 countries surveyed, Jefferies said. Norway remains the leader at 97 percent, followed by Denmark (74 percent), Finland (41 percent) and the Netherlands (38 percent).

Italy (7 percent), Poland (8 percent) and Spain (9 percent) had the lowest EV penetration rate. Italy had one of the highest rates of EV growth in April, however, with sales nearly doubling to 13,238 from 6,666 in April 2025.

The price of fuel would be even higher without temporary price controls imposed by many European countries. In others, individual companies have agreed to limit increases. The French energy giant Total said it would extend a cap of €1.99 per liter of gasoline and €2.25 for diesel through May, with even lower prices for diesel on key holiday weekends in May.
 

Incentive programs play a part in EV surge

ACEA, the European automakers’ lobby, said May 5 that higher gasoline and diesel prices had already started to influence the vehicle market, with demand for used EVs increasing in response.

The lobbying group, however, said it was too early to say “with a high degree of certainly” if the conflict is the proximate cause of higher sales of new EVs. ACEA said that higher EV sales this year also reflect national tax benefits and incentive programs launched before the war started.

The French auto lobby group PFA said on May 6 that a 60 percent increase in the used EV market was likely due to an increase in fuel prices. Like ACEA, the group urged caution in attributing the increase in new EV sales solely to fuel prices, saying that registration figures would reflect that effect only from May onward because of a lag between orders and deliveries.

Charging-point operators are also benefiting from higher fuel prices. Fastned, which operates more than 400 high-speed EV charging stations across Europe, recorded a 52 percent increase in revenue in the second half of March, Jefferies said.