9:20 am, August 31, 2022
Car dealers could be line for a boost in sales of the most fuel-efficient cars.
It follows new research by AA Cars revealing that almost nine out of 10 of drivers now put fuel economy among their top three priorities when buying a car.
The poll of 15,057 drivers found that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) rank good fuel economy as the most important thing they’d look for in a car if they were to buy one this year, with 87 per cent listing it among their top three criteria.
A mere nine per cent of drivers said they wouldn’t rank fuel efficiency as a priority, while four per cent said it was irrelevant because they only want to buy an EV.
The findings come after separate AA data recorded that average petrol prices are 26 per cent higher than a year ago, at 170.60p a litre, while the average cost of diesel is 182.58p – 33 per cent more than the same month in 2021.
The rising cost of living may also be pushing people to favour cars which will cost them less to run.
Of those who listed fuel economy among their top three priorities for a new car, nearly a third (31 per cent) said they wouldn’t have ranked it as highly this time last year.
That, said AA Cars, suggests the surging cost of fuel in 2022 has had a major impact on people’s car-buying preferences.
The high cost of fuel is also playing its part in stronger sales of EVs.
Battery EVs made up 13.9 per cent of all new car sales in the first seven months of 2022, while sales of second-hand EVs more than doubled in the first quarter of the year, according to the SMMT.
James Fairclough, CEO of AA Cars, said: ‘The high cost of petrol and diesel has made many drivers reconsider what they want most in a car, and fuel economy has shot to the top of many people’s wishlists.
‘This means that some of the most attractive models right now are those with the best fuel economy.
‘People concerned about the price of fuel may also be considering an EV as an alternative.
‘While EVs typically cost more to buy than an equivalent petrol or diesel model, they come with the benefit of lower running costs. The savings are even bigger when fuel prices are as high as they are right now.’
