Automotive fuel sales in the Eurozone slumped by the most in two and a half years in April as drivers reduced gasoline and diesel purchases as prices jumped in the wake of the Iran war.
Sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores declined in the Eurozone by 3.5% in April from a year earlier, while the EU sales of motor fuel fell by 2% year over year, data from Eurostat, the EU statistics office, showed.
The flop in Eurozone fuel sales was the steepest since October 2023, and was the first annual drop since July 2024, as oil prices spiked in March and April, leading to soaring prices at the pump.
Month-on-month, fuel sales in the EU and the Eurozone also slipped in April, after slight monthly increases in March, suggesting that drivers likely filled up in the early days of the Middle East conflict and conserved fuel in the following weeks.
As a result of the price hikes, European drivers are cutting back on fuel purchases and driving, and are increasingly buying or considering buying electric vehicles.
Sales of electric vehicles in Europe are on the rise as the Middle East war disruption in oil exports pushes retail fuel prices higher. Data from the industry last month showed demand for EVs had surged by 34% in April.
Demand for electric vehicles is rising in the UK as well, as prices at the pump climb relentlessly amid the government’s determination not to reverse what is effectively a ban on new North Sea oil and gas production. According to the EV industry, the trend is irreversible.
Electric vehicle sales could hit nearly 30% of all car sales in the world this year as drivers accelerate a shift to EVs and hybrids amid spiking fuel prices in the wake of the Iran war, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual Global EV Outlook 2026 report last month.
“Looking ahead, the falls we have seen in battery prices and the potential policy responses to the current global energy crisis are set to provide further momentum in EV markets,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
