Higher gas prices spark a surge of search interest in EVs

• Searches for EVs have spiked at online car marketplaces.
• Analysts say the spike comes as shoppers consider new vehicles ahead of the US tax season.
• The trend comes as gas prices continue to rise — and EV sales have been on a monthslong downslide.

Gas prices are surging. Some drivers are responding by typing two letters into online searches: EV.

Online interest in electric vehicles has ticked higher in recent weeks as fuel costs climb, according to data from car-shopping sites and Google search trends. But the spike in curiosity hasn't yet translated into a broader rebound for EV sales, which have been struggling for months.

CarGurus told Business Insider that views of listings for new EVs have risen nearly 10% since March 1. Online interest in used EVs climbed even more — nearly 15% over the same period.

Search data suggests a similar pattern. Google Trends shows queries for "used electric cars" hitting a three-month high and nearly doubling since late February, the week before the national average price for regular gas climbed above $3 a gallon.

Autotrader said the uptick in EV interest lines up with what it's seeing across its platform.

"Early signs suggest that rising gas prices may be prompting some shoppers to reconsider EVs," Kevin Roberts, CarGurus' director of economic and market intelligence, told Business Insider. "Over the past several days, we've seen a lift in shopper views of EV listings."

Broader EV search interest still appears relatively muted, however.

Data from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company, shows website traffic to major EV-only automakers hasn't surged. Visits to Tesla's website were down slightly month over month, while traffic to Rivian and Lucid fell. Polestar — a smaller EV brand — was the only automaker to see an increase, at 33%.

Auto sales analysts haven't concluded that high gas prices will trigger a spike in EV sales.

"It's too early to untangle the web of what's tax season-driven versus what's gas price-driven," said Jade Terreberry, Autotrader's senior director of strategic planning and analytics. "The primary drivers for EV trends are still manufacturer incentives and tax credits."

The renewed interest comes as gas prices across the US have risen amid the United States' war with Iran.

Violence tied to the conflict has tightened global oil supplies, pushing crude prices higher and adding pressure at the pump.

A potential lifeline for EV sales

EV sales have been under pressure in 2026.

CarGurus data shows US dealerships sold 53.5% fewer EVs in January compared with a year earlier. February sales were down 45.2% year over year.

The slowdown began in September after the federal government ended the $7,500 tax credit for buyers of US-made electric vehicles. Several automakers have since discontinued EV models from their American lineups.

However, the slump has created a buyer's market for shoppers considering an EV.

CarGurus said the average price for several new electric cars is significantly lower. The price for a GMC Sierra EV has fallen 23.5% this year, the Chevrolet Equinox EV is down 21%, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5's average cost has dropped 22.6%.

Dealerships are also rolling out incentives to attract buyers.

Autotrader said it's seeing more "buying signals" across the broader car market — including car history report requests, dealership conversations, and credit applications — which is typical during tax refund season.

"Keep your eyes open for incentives," Terreberry said.

For now, the renewed interest in EVs looks more like early curiosity than a full shift in buying behavior.

Roberts said something similar happened in 2022, when gas prices briefly surged above $5 a gallon and EV searches spiked.

"Historically, meaningful increases in buyer activity tend to happen after higher gas prices persist for a period of time," he said.

Drivers are looking for cheaper gas, too

For now, drivers have been logging on to the internet to find the cheapest place to fill up their gas tanks.

Similarweb said active users of the GasBuddy app — which locates the cheapest places to fill up near a phone user — nearly doubled to about 600,000 daily users in early March, up from fewer than 300,000 in February.

Downloads of the app also spiked, reaching nearly 11,800 in a single day in early March compared with an average of about 2,500 daily downloads in February.