Searches for used electric cars jump more than 200% since the start of the Middle East conflict

Searches for used electric cars have jumped by more than 200% since the start of the conflict in the Middle East and while fuel prices are soaring, which is driving up vehicle prices, according to a study by La Centrale this Wednesday, September 30. The average price of a used car (electric or not) rose above 20,000 euros in the 3rd quarter of 2026, to 20,990 euros compared to 19,990 euros in the 2nd quarter, according to the quarterly observatory of the La Centrale “market place” (where professionals put their vehicles up for sale).

And this increase is mainly driven by the strong demand for electric vehicles, searches for which on the site reached a peak of +214% (more than 130,000 searches) on September 20 compared to February 28, the date of the start of the conflict in the Middle East. This research boom began in March, “almost immediately,” observes Guillaume-Henri Blanchet, general director of La Centrale. While three quarters of vehicles sold in France are second-hand, the average price of used electric vehicles reached 25,593 euros in the 3rd quarter, up 9.7% year-on-year, the strongest increase among all engines.

Skip the ad

A “two-speed market”

Guillaume-Henri Blanchet evokes a “two-speed market”, compared to gasoline and diesel vehicles, sold for less than 18,000 euros on average. The majority of motorists plan a maximum budget of 20,000 euros for a used car, according to an Ifop survey for La Centrale in March 2025. As demand for electric vehicles explodes, the stock is falling: -32% in one year. The drop is even more marked for vehicles costing less than 20,000 euros, the stock of which fell by 48% over the same period.

Accessible models are the most popular, such as the Renault Zoé, whose stock increased from around 4,500 to 640 advertisements in one year (-86%), while its average price increased by 25%, to 14,985 euros. As Guillaume-Henri Blanchet points out, it takes around 15 euros to charge a Zoé and 100 euros to refuel a Clio diesel. According to him, motorists now think about the cost of using their vehicle, and no longer just the purchase cost. The supply of affordable used electric cars should, according to the manager of La Centrale, expand in 2027, when vehicles sold for the first wave of social leasing will return to the market in 2024, at the end of the three years of long-term rental.