Searches for EVs soar 37% during UK fuel crisis
A major used car buying service has reported a large increase in searches for electric vehicles (EVs) during the current UK fuel crisis.
Used car buying and finance company, Choosemycar.com, has seen an increase of 37 per cent in users searching for electric cars in the past week. This is backed up by brand new research commissioned by the company, which showed that more than a quarter of people will now look to purchase an electric car as their next vehicle due to the recent fuel “shortage”.
The research was part of a bigger study on how the crisis has affected UK drivers fuelling habits. They showed that close to a quarter of UK drivers admitted to heading to the pumps unnecessarily – or filling up with more fuel than they ordinarily would.
Interestingly, men were more likely to fill up unnecessarily than women, with 26 per cent taking action, compared to just 22 per cent of women. And age matters – with the younger age bracket of 18-34 seeing a huge 37% admitting to filling up, while just 22% of the 35-54 age bracket took action – and just 17% of the over 55s.
There were also variations geographically. Regionally, the West Midlands and Greater London were most likely to fill up, both seeing 37 per cent admitting to fuelling up. Whereas the Yorkshire and Humber region was more relaxed, with just 17 per cent taking action.
Founder, Choosemycar.com Nick Zapolski, says:
“While it’s easy to pass judgement on other drivers, our stats show that millions of UK drivers didn’t want to take any chances. In fact, it’s such a concern that we’re now seeing a significant increase in searches for electric cars.
“Although we were told there actually was no shortage of fuel, the long queues and endless stations running out was enough to send a quarter of us to the pumps.
“It just shows how reliant we have all become on our cars and the anxiety it creates when we believe we might not have access to one. It shows the importance of having a reliable, working car and the impact they have on our lives – and perhaps will spark renewed interest in electric vehicles in the future.”
