THE number of searches for electric vehicles surged in September says the leasing deal aggregator site Leasing.com.
It says the uptick was due to the effect of both fuel shortages at filling stations, and the increased driving range of EVs.
Models such as the Hyundai Kona, Tesla Model 3, and Volkswagen ID.3 all featured in the leasing comparison site’s top 10 most enquired about vehicles last month.
Driven partly by a crisis during the month that saw the army called in to help deliver fuel to filling stations, and partly by a continuing trend in customer engagement with electric vehicles, Leasing.com said it had seen significant interest in EVs across multiple sectors.
The VW ID.3 was the most popular vehicle during the final week of September, when the fuel crisis was at its height said the website, adding that with 300 miles ranges many EVs were close to matching that found in a number of petrol-powered models.
“EVs must now be considered in the same breath as traditional combustion engines – we’re seeing sustained demand from consumers and strong new EV enquiries versus traditional fuel types.”
Paul Harrison, head of strategic partnerships, Leasing,com
Elsewhere in the September league tables, Hyundai climbed to third in the top 10 manufacturers, while the Nissan Qashqai climbed to fifth and the Volkswagen Golf reclaimed the top spot in the list of most popular lease car searches by model.
Top 10 manufacturers by search
- Volkswagen
- BMW
- Hyundai
- Audi
- Nissan
- Range Rover
- Kia
- Volvo
- Ford
- Mercedes-Benz
Top 10 models by search on PCH
- Volkswagen Golf
- BMW 1 Series
- Nissan Qashqai
- Vauxhall Corsa
- Volkswagen ID.3
- Hyundai Kona
- Range Rover Sport
- Volkswagen Tiguan
- Volkswagen T-Cross
- BMW 2-Series
Source: Leasing.com
