BERLIN – After years of broadly unsuccessful efforts to wean drivers off combustion engines, sales of electric vehicles are surging in Europe, thanks to the jump in fuel prices stoked by geopolitical upheaval.
Registrations of fully-electric cars soared 52 per cent across the region in August compared with a year earlier, according to data published on Sept 24 by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Germany, the biggest market, led the gains with a three-quarter jump while sales in France more than doubled.
A major reason for the leap in EV demand is the increasing cost of running traditional engines powered by fossil fuels, which has shot higher with the rising price of oil.
The US-Israeli war on Iran is disrupting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing the average price of a liter of petrol in Germany to a record €2.31 (S$3.37) a liter. Diesel is even more expensive in the birthplace of the modern car, as Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries crimp global supplies.
European buyers shifting to EVs means that, through August, more than one in three vehicles sold had a plug, up from just over one in four.
The picture is similar across the region, where the jump in fuel prices is hitting cash-strapped households already straining to make ends meet. Prices are up by more than a quarter across key markets.
It is also hurting transport-dependent firms.
For Charles Riviere, a 54-year-old fisherman from Luc-sur-Mer on France’s north coast, the mounting cost of fuelling his van and boat means he needs a lot more Parisians to buy his seafood to make the roundtrip to the capital worthwhile.
“I used to make a profit with only 12 or 13 clients in Paris,” Rivière said while preparing oysters during an outdoor community event in the French capital’s 14th arrondissement.
“Now, I no longer come if I don’t have orders from at least 20 clients and increasingly there are fewer of them,” he added. “When I don’t come, I have zero income.”
For an expanding share of drivers, switching to battery power is the answer.
In Germany, charging a mid-range or luxury EV at home currently costs about 70 per cent less than fuelling a petrol-powered car, according to analysis by comparison website Verivox.
Electric cars were already gaining momentum in Europe earlier in 2026 as carmakers rolled out more affordable models like Renault’s Twingo E-Tech city car that starts at €19,490 and Volkswagen’s €37,890 Skoda Elroq compact SUV.
Throughout the year, the sharp increase in EV demand helped offset deep declines for vehicles running on fuel only. Overall deliveries in August rose 5.3 per cent, the lobby group said.
Governments are also providing financial support, especially for less affluent households.
German drivers below a certain income threshold can get as much as €6,000 off the purchase price for an EV. In France, a programme can reduce monthly car payments to below €100 for some models such as the Citroen e-C3 city car.
Concern about insufficient battery range is also fading.
Ford Motor’s Capri long-range EV crossover can travel more than 600km on a single charge, on a par with Volvo Car’s mid-range EX60.
Sting in the tail
Yet, for Europe’s storied manufacturers, the long-awaited EV boom comes with a sting in the tail.
The industry has seen tens of billions evaporate when hiccups in demand and abrupt regulation changes in the US forced them to resize sales expectations.
Opel-maker Stellantis led the writedowns with an unprecedented charge of €25.4 billion for 2025. The Jeep and Ram maker faced additional pain after the US reversal on EV policy under President Donald Trump.
Manufacturers reacted by deepening cost-cutting measures already in place.
VW, the region’s biggest manufacturer, is pushing through plans to double global job cuts to 100,000. On Sept 18, it slashed its profit forecast for 2026 due to a sharp contraction in China.
Europe’s struggles are opening up more inroads for Chinese manufacturers offering solid technology at affordable prices.
BYD’s budget city EV Dolphin Surf starts at €22,990, and it is also offering customers in Italy discounts of as much as €11,600.
Chinese bands made up a record share of nearly 12 per cent of total new-car sales in Europe in August, according to figures from Dataforce published on Sept 23.
The impact of record fuel prices on voters is also reshaping European political agendas.
With Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition haemorrhaging voter support, Germany’s federal and state governments last week agreed to a €2.5 billion relief package for motorists and businesses.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government introduced in September a vehicle ownership tax cut, ahead of a national election in 2027.
In France, concerns are mounting that the latest French cost-of-living crisis may trigger fresh unrest similar to the “yellow vest” protests in 2018. During the past week, fishermen blockaded several ports and a fuel depot along the Mediterranean coast and some petrol stations in the northern part of the country were vandalised.
“Drivers are no longer filling up their tank completely,” according to Jacques Vaysse, owner of an independent gas station in Salles-Curan, a village in the Aveyron region in southeastern France. “There will be a social fallout unless the government cuts fuel taxes.” BLOOMBERG
