Demand for electric vehicles in Europe has surged as high fuel prices linked to the Iran war propel sales of new and second-hand EVs, data shared with Reuters shows, providing a much-needed boost to the auto industry.

Although sales of fully electric cars grew 30 per cent across Europe in 2025, EV adoption on the continent has lagged industry expectations.

Carmakers from Volkswagen to Fiat-owner Stellantis, which had invested heavily in expectation of much higher EV demand, have over the last year booked multi-billion-dollar charges to cover asset writedowns.

Buyers’ calculations have been transformed by an upsurge in international oil prices to well above $100 a barrel since US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran at the end of February unleashed a wider conflict and led to unprecedented energy supply disruption.