The United States and Israel's war on Iran and the resulting fast-rising cost of gasoline has led to a surge in demand among Europeans for electric vehicles, or EVs, according to new research.

Analysis of national sales figures from 15 European countries by the transport research organization New AutoMotive and the trade body E-Mobility Europe found the number of EVs sold in Europe during March shot up by 51 percent compared to March 2025.

The analysis found the 224,000 new EVs registered in Europe during March took the total for the first three months of 2026 to 500,000. That first-quarter performance was 33.5 percent up on the same period last year, according to the research released on Monday.

Chris Heron, secretary-general of E-Mobility Europe, said: "March's surge in electric car sales is one of Europe's biggest recent gains in energy security, in a month when oil dependence has become a real vulnerability. Across the EU's major markets, EV sales are growing at rates above 40 percent, marking a clear step change, not statistical noise."

He said the additional EVs bought by Europeans during March could have reduced dependency on Middle Eastern oil by as much as 2 million barrels a year at a time when the supply of oil has been severely impacted by the war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Norway has led Europe's switch, with a staggering 98 percent of all new cars sold there during March being EVs. In Denmark, 76 percent of new cars sold were EVs. And in Finland, the total hit almost 50 percent.

France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain all recorded at least a 40 percent increase in EV sales during the first quarter of 2026.

Europe's largest all-electric car manufacturer, Sweden's Polestar, sold 60,000 vehicles last year. VW, Tesla, and BMW are also major US and European players. But many of the new vehicles now being sold in Europe were made by Chinese automakers, including BYD, Jaecoo, Omoda, and Leapmotor.

Chinese-made EVs are increasing their market share in the European Union and accounted for 16 percent of new EVs sold there during the first two months of 2026, up from 12.2 percent last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

Since the Iran war began in late February, Brent crude oil prices have gone up by around 30 percent and the high cost has also impacted the vacation industry, with Reuters reporting this week that more than $100 has been added to the cost of long-haul flights out of Europe as a result.

Campaign group Transport and Environment said difficulty accessing fuel could lead to shortages and possibly cancelled flights.

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