Leon Smethurst decided to start leasing an electric vehicle (EV) after he went to fill up his diesel car and the bill topped £90.
“I watched the price of fuel go up 2p or 3p a day and thought this was getting ridiculous,” he said looking back to March this year, when the start of the Iran war caused a spike in fuel prices.
Smethurst is among tens of thousands of people who have been encouraged to buy an EV since the conflict began earlier this year.
Data from motoring analysts New Automotive found EV sales rose 23.9 per cent in the first 100 days of the war compared to the same period last year. Octopus Energy’s EV business has reported a 55 per cent increase in demand over the same period.
‘It’s a no-brainer’
Smethurst, 40, had been considering an EV for sometime, but wasn’t sure it was right for him as his job involved travelling long distances to army bases, meaning he would have to rely on the UK’s public charging network.
While this network is rapidly improving, it is far more expensive to charge your car at a public point than at your home.
Earlier this year, Smethurst left the military and is now travelling shorter distances near his home in Portsmouth, where he lives with his wife and two children.
This, combined with rising fuel costs, convinced him it was the right time to go electric.
“We had two diesel cars so I thought let’s keep one and have one electric and see how we get on,” he said.
Smethurst started to lease an EV, an Omoda 35, at the start of last month. He is leasing it for four years at a cost of £365 per month from Octopus, which provides a free charger and covers servicing and maintenance.
The family has done about 1,200 miles to date and Smethurst calculates he has saved around £200 on fuel to date. They can travel around 220 miles on one full charge, which costs around £5.
Smethurst said the benefits of an EV depend on “what you’re going to use the car for”.
“If you only need local commuting to and from work and whatever, it’s a no-brainer,” he said, adding that the money you pay for the car will be made back from savings on fuel, road tax, servicing and MOTs.
Iran War causes surge in demandAn additional 32,384 EVs were sold in the UK in the first 100 days of the US-Israeli war on Iran, compared to the same period in 2025.
Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, said the surge in demand “isn’t a flash in the pan”, adding that demand for EVs has been rising annually by 30 per cent.
Matt Cleevely, owner of Cheltenham-based Cleevely Electric Vehicles, said rising petrol costs “probably tipped anyone who was on the verge of moving into EV”.
Cost of EV compared to petrol
Upfront cost: EVs used to be far more expensive, but this cost has gone down. According to Auto Trader, the average price of a new EV is £42,620, cheaper than £43,405 for a new petrol model. The cheapest second-hand cars are still petrol, but the growth of the second hand EV markets means reliable electric models can now be found for around £5,000.
Fuel: An average EV driver that has an 80/20 split of home and public charging can expect to pay £680 per year to charge their car. An equivalent petrol car driver would pay £1,660 annually on fuel.
Servicing: An EV is simpler than a petrol car, meaning annual servicing costs are £140 annually, compared to £175 for a petrol car.
Data source: Auto Trader
Hence then, the article about i got an ev due to rising petrol prices its saving me 200 a month was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( I got an EV due to rising petrol prices – its saving me £200 a month )
Also on site :