Electric vehicle sales jump 50% at dealership as fuel prices surge
Monday, 9 March 2026
Spiralling petrol prices in the wake of conflict in the Middle East have injected renewed interest in electric vehicles.
That’s according to Dave Boot, who owns used car dealership EV City in Christchurch and saw a 50% boost in sales last week.
The price of petrol at the pump has climbed in the week since the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, but data suggests significant increases remain in the pipeline, even if international prices stabilise.
Kiwis may pay about $3 a litre for 91 octane petrol and $2.50 a litre for diesel in the coming days, based on current prices for importing bulk fuel.
Boot says the last time an international conflict had a major impact on fuel prices he had a small queue out the door, but sales had otherwise been “very flat” since the Clean Car Discount scheme ended in 2023.
A week into March, EV City sales were up 50% on the month prior, and Boot was anticipating a sell-out of stock – about 100 vehicles – within the next six weeks, if not closer to a month.
Boot said if petrol prices did not stabilise then the value of EVs would likely rise as well, as companies like his could not suddenly just import more.
“What we’ll see is the availability of the used EVs coming out of Japan dry up, and availability of what’s used in New Zealand dry up, as people would seek to hold on to their EVs for longer,” he said.
For now, he said buyers were taking less time to test-drive and decide whether they want a vehicle.
“Where we would typically have a customer engage with us two or three times … we’re [now] having people come in and say, ‘I don’t care, I just want a blue one’,” he said.
The recent rise in oil prices has been exacerbated by shortages of refined fuels and rising shipping and insurance costs, which has blown out the margin for refining petroleum products.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said its members might need to raise fuel prices if the unrest in the Middle East continues for a sustained period.
“As we have seen before, when key shipping corridors are closed and oil supply chains are disrupted due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, New Zealand is not immune to the effects,” she said.