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As petrol and diesel prices continue to increase at exponential rates since the start of the Middle East conflict, Australians have started to switch to EVs at break-neck speeds.
Recent data has revealed daily sales of used EVs has more than doubled since mid-February.
When the Middle East conflict escalated in late February and petrol prices began to increase, daily sales continued to climb steadily, while the number of used EVs on the market fell sharply, data from AutoGrab showed.
Between 28 February and 24 March, the number of used EVs for sale dropped from 3535 to 2387 – about a 33 per cent decline in just three weeks, the data showed.
“This is translating directly into pricing,” AutoGrab Chief Commercial Officer Saxon Odgers said in a statement.
“This is not simply short-term volatility, it’s a structural response to rising fuel costs, which are fundamentally reshaping buyer behaviour.”
Electric cars built between 2021 and 2025 all saw an increase in their average retained values between 14 February and 24 March.
The largest price jump was seen in the 2025 year EVs – retaining nearly 88 per cent of their original value in March, compared with about 77 per cent in mid-February.
“For buyers, the window to acquire used EVs at current price levels is narrowing,” the report stated.
| Build year | 14 Feb | 28 Feb | 24 March | Difference |
| 2025 | 77.3 | 89.3 | 87.9 | +10.6 |
| 2024 | 70.9 | 76.6 | 75.2 | +4.3 |
| 2023 | 59.6 | 57.8 | 61.2 | +1.6 |
| 2022 | 51.2 | 51.7 | 54.6 | +3.4 |
| 2021 | 43.4 | 47.4 | 47.1 | +3.7 |
The shift toward EV preference has also been seen on Drive’s own marketplace, with average daily enquiries about electric cars advertised for sale increasing by 175 per cent in the month to 29 March – almost three times the amount seen in February.
Hybrid enquiries also increased in the month – up about 30 per cent – though that included both standard hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Interest in petrol and diesel cars declined by roughly 15 per cent.
“Current fuel price pressures are having people reconsider their car choices, and we know that they are investigating both fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in record numbers,” Drive Head of Content James Ward said.
"Enquiry rates that we see on drive.com.au – and hear anecdotally from manufacturers – are skyrocketing.”
The AutoGrab report concluded that used-EV prices would increase without more people deciding to sell in the coming months.
"If listings fail to recover toward the 2800 to 3000 range through late March and April, upward pricing pressure movement is likely to follow," the report stated.
It stated the end-of-financial year may provide some relief, as fleet owners upgrade to new models, creating supply in the used market.
"However, given the pace of current demand absorption, a normal seasonal volume uplift may not be sufficient to meaningfully rebalance the market before June."
Jemimah is Drive's Consumer Editor. She has more than a decade of editorial experience and has previously worked in property and lifestyle journalism for Domain, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and REA Group, among many other publications.
