Surging petrol prices now approaching $3 a litre in some parts of Australia are turning buyers of even small brands towards electric power.
Electric Cars
The surge in fuel prices as a result of conflict in the Middle East is prompting increased interest in new electric cars, according to one of Australia's newest sellers of battery-powered vehicles.
However, Skoda says convincing customers to move beyond the consideration stage – and take the leap on an electric car – is not proving as easy.
"We definitely see increased interest," Skoda Australia director Lucie Kuhn told Drive.
"If this interest will last in such [an] extent for longer, it's probably hard to say. But the truth is that the conflict in the Middle East has an impact on increased interest in electric cars in the Australian market."
Since Drive spoke with the Skoda boss in recent days, the average price of 91-octane regular unleaded has climbed from 219.5 to 238 cents per litre, while diesel is up from 245.6 to 282.4 cents per litre.
In some capital cities, the top grade of premium unleaded petrol is close to $3 a litre, a mark diesel has crossed in most regions.
Search volume for electric vehicles on the Pickles auction website has increased by 111 per cent over the past three weeks compared to the prior period, while motoring group RACV has seen a 190 per cent increase in electric-car searches.
Translating a surge in interest into a purchase is proving more difficult.
"I think going for an electrical purchase, it's a journey," said Kuhn.
"I would say that these customers, because it's a strong step [to go EV], a strong customer change of the way of using the car in their everyday lives, I think they are right now rather in a phase of evaluation, looking around, assessing what's actually in the market there, which is actually good."
Any impact on electric-car demand as part of the conflict in the Middle East will not become apparent until new-car sales data for March is released in early April.
The US and Israel launched their first attacks on Iran in the afternoon of the last day of February, Australian time – and fuel prices did not begin rising until early March – so it is impossible for either factor to have affected new-car sales until this month.
Sales of electric cars were already on the up, rising 95.9 per cent in February 2026 compared to the same month a year prior, thanks to a rebound in Tesla deliveries after a slow start to last year.
Electric Cars Guide
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
