• Percentage of motorists who will consider an electric car as their next vehicle is up from 19% to 29% in the last six months
• Similarly, those who would consider a diesel car has increased from 12% to 22%
• However, interest in petrol and hybrid models is almost unchanged, shows December’s new Startline Used Car Tracker

December’s Startline Used Car Tracker shows the percentage of motorists who say that they would definitely consider an electric car as their next vehicle is up from 19% to 29%, while for diesel, it has increased from 12% to 22%.

However, interest in other fuel types is relatively static, with petrol falling slightly from 49% to 47% and hybrids increasing only a little from 26% to 30%.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Our reading of this is that consumers are becoming more and more interested in vehicles that are cheap to fuel and so are more open to the idea of diesel and electric power.

“Electric cars, if charged at home, are very low cost to operate on a day-to-day basis, while diesel generally offers much improved miles per gallon performance compared to petrol and even most hybrid cars.

“It’s interesting that last month, we carried out some research among dealers which showed that 99% thought there was a direct link between consumer enthusiasm for electric cars and high fuel prices, and these new findings potentially underline that trend.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker also asks motorists what fuel they expect to consider not just for their next car but the one after. December’s results are electric 38%, hybrid 29%, petrol 23% and diesel 11%.

Paul added: “This suggests that, probably near the end of the decade, around two-thirds of used car buyers expect to be driving either an electric or hybrid car, which would be a massive swing towards electrification in a relatively short space of time.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This time, 303 consumers and 59 dealers were questioned.