7:09 am, September 30, 2026
Demand for used diesel cars have is plummeting rapidly as the price of the fuel rockets past £2 per litre across the country.
As the War in Iran and the impact of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries continues to weigh on the price of fuel, demand for diesel cars is dropping drastically.
This week President Donald Trump threatened to restrict the export of diesel, which would come as a major blow to the UK. Currently, 30% of UK diesel imports are from the States.
As diesel prices continue to rise, new data shared exclusively with Car Dealer by the UK’s largest automotive marketplace Autotrader shows diesel cars are taking at least three days longer to sell than a year ago.
When compared with electric cars, diesels took a week longer to sell in September as motorists saw the price of diesel rocket.
This week, the average price of a litre of diesel reached the highest level in UK history. Analysis of fuel prices by the RAC showed that a litre of diesel now stands at 199.18p, meaning that the cost to fill up an average family car is close to £100 – £31 more than it was before the start of the Iran conflict.
Car dealers have reported that these soaring fuel prices have seen a renewed interest in electric cars with sales of EVs outpacing their ICE equivalents.
Autotrader said used electric car enquiries now accounted for one-in-four of all leads sent to car dealers in September.
Ian Plummer, chief customer officer at Autotrader, said: ‘With diesel now at a record high of almost £2 a litre, higher costs at the pump appear to be strengthening the financial case for electric and accelerating the growth we’ve tracked since the spring.
‘Over the last month, used electric cars have increased their share of enquiries on Autotrader by more than a quarter, whilst diesel share of enquiries have halved – a striking indication of how quickly car buyers’ considerations are shifting.
‘That shift is increasingly visible on forecourts too. The average diesel is now taking 34 days to sell – three days slower than a year ago and nearly a week longer than an electric car.
‘With demand rising even as the share of available electric stock tightens, the commercial case for retailing EVs is strengthening.’
Earlier this year, co-founder of used car dealer EV Experts, Martin Miller, told the Car Dealer Podcast that when petrol prices rose above 150p a litre they saw a surge in interest in electric cars.
What Car? deputy editor Darren Moss said motorists are being scared off diesel cars by the high prices being seen at the pumps.
Research by the consumer magazine found the cost of running a typical diesel car for 8000 miles – the average annual mileage – has now risen to £1,509, based on the current average price of 200p per litre.
‘That’s £435 more expensive than before the war when the average price of diesel was 142.38p per litre,’ said What Car?
‘For high-mileage drivers, the hike in costs is even more eye-watering. The cost of driving an average diesel car 20,000 miles has risen to £3,772 – that’s £1,087 more than it was prior to the Iran war.’