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Gas prices are driving a new interest in EVs, retailers say

Searches for electric vehicles surged 25% last month, according to Cars.com.
EV searches surge online amid gas hike
Biden Fuel Economy
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The average price for a gallon of gas has topped $4.50, up more than $1.50 from before the war with Iran.

That reality is driving more people to think about electric options.

Searches for electric vehicles surged 25% last month, according to Cars.com.

"We are definitely seeing an increase in consumers coming to us, given the price of gas, and saying, 'hey, I'm thinking about, for the first time, buying an EV,'" said Corey Haire, regional VP of sales at Carmax.

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That jump in interest is leading to more sales.

Global EV sales were up 66% in march compared to February, and were up 6% in April from a year ago, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

But most of that is thanks to European sales. In North America, EV sales were actually down 9% in April from last year.

While Americans appear to be more hesitant, the dropoff in sales is largely due to the elimination of the EV tax credit last fall. The U.S. market did see its best monthly total for new EV plug in registrations in March since then.

These increases directly correlate with the rise in fuel prices during the ongoing war.

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