People are charging to EV’s – Fuel pricing prompts a huge uplift in interest

With conflict abroad and fuel prices going through the roof it was inevitable that consumers would try and find ways to save money.

New data from NRMA Insurance has shown a 42% increase in March over February and a phenomenal 81% year on year increase in insurance quotes for EV’s.

I am not suggesting someone suddenly decides to spend tens of thousands of dollars in order to avoid spending an extra $50 a tank of petrol but if someone was wavering whether to dip their toes in the world of EV’s over a traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle it’s a no-brainer at the moment to go all in on electric vehicles.

The trouble in the Middle East coincides with a plethora of choice for new car buyers. Not only are legacy brands transitioning from petrol/diesel to alternate propulsion systems there has been a dramatic increase of newcomers into the market, predominantly in the form of more affordable Chinese options.

NRMA’s “Changing Gear” research from 2024 indicated that only 20% of Australians who were planning to buy a car in the next five years were considering an EV and had concerns over upfront cost, range anxiety and charging times.

Head of Automotive Research at NRMA Insurance, Shawn Ticehurs said “Today, with more than 100 EV models now available across every major price tier, a growing second-hand market, rising confidence in charging infrastructure and repair capability, those concerns are fading fast,” 

Fast forward to today and it seems everyone is clambering to get their hands of an electric car with reports of huge crowds at EV dealers.

The last 2 years has also seen significant uptake of solar and large home battery installations so it makes sense to funnel excess electrons into your vehicle rather than being paid a pittance for your excess solar as feed-in tariffs decline (or in some cases become negative). That’s right. Some electricity providers charge you to feed into the grid.

Pump that into an EV instead

It is not only NRMA Insurance seeing significant interest in EV’s. The Commonwealth Bank recently reported that traffic to their EV Car Loan product page was up 75% in March but importantly loan volumes for March 2026 were up an incredible 161% on February numbers. So it seems it is more than an interest. It is resulting in real sales with consumers willing to part with real money to avoid at least one of the pressures in this cost of living crisis.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when the world calms down. Is this the spark EV’s needed to trigger a quick transition from ICE to EV’s or will it be an artificial glitch in the stats until fuel prices decline?