Prices for used electric vehicles and hybrids have been rising sharply alongside gas prices since the Iran war began in late February.
The trend isn’t driven by gas prices alone. It also reflects an influx of money from tax refund season, said Kevin Roberts, director of economic and market intelligence at CarGurus.
Roberts analyzed new and used vehicle data from Feb. 28 — when the war began — through the end of April. “For most people, that’s when gas prices started to go up, and that’s also when interest in more fuel‑efficient vehicles really began to pick up,” he said.
Roberts cautioned against oversimplifying the correlation, noting that more time is needed to draw firm conclusions. Still, rising list prices — paired with an increase in users searching the site — warrant a closer look. “There was an acceleration in EV and hybrid interest in March and April compared with January and February, which aligns with gas prices starting to rise,” Roberts said.
Roberts pointed to several vehicles that experienced the steepest price increases, including the Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, Porsche Taycan, Ford Mustang Mach‑E and Kia EV9. The Model X saw its average price jump by more than $6,000 from Feb. 28 through April 30.
