Renault is seeing what its UK boss Adam Wood calls a “structural shift” toward electric cars, as higher fuel prices combine with a new generation of more attractive and affordable models to move EVs beyond their early-adopter niche.

And the trend appears to be more than a British blip, with Renault reporting stronger EV orders in France and Germany while BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen are also seeing rising electric demand across Europe.

Speaking to Car Dealer Magazine at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Wood said inquiries for Renault electric cars in Britain had risen by 42% in the eight weeks following the latest Middle East fuel crisis, compared with the preceding eight weeks. He argued that the increase was more than a temporary reaction to volatile petrol prices.

According to Wood, cars such as the Renault 5 now offer the emotional and practical appeal needed to make electric driving a mainstream choice.

A Renault survey among 1,600 owners found that 96% would recommend an EV, while just over 60% considered it more affordable to run and live with than expected. Wood also called for lower public charging costs if Britain is to meet its rising zero-emission sales targets.

More than a British blip?

Wood is an important voice for Renault as both managing director of the Renault brand in Britain and country head of Renault Group UK.

He returned in 2024 after previously spending 14 years at Renault UK and later leading Peugeot UK. Britain is a major European market for Renault and a key proving ground for EVs because of its large fleet sector and binding zero-emission sales mandate.

Renault’s own figures support his broader conclusion. The Group’s European EV sales rose by 20.9% in the first quarter of 2026 and reached 17% of its sales. For the Renault brand alone, electric sales increased by more than 40%, led by the Renault 5, Renault 4, and Scenic.

Its European order book expanded from 1.5 to two months of forward sales, with Renault pointing to a significant acceleration in electric orders.

Change started before the oil shock

The change had already begun before the latest oil shock. Renault Group sold around 194,000 electric cars in Europe in 2025, 76.7% more than in 2024. In the UK, Renault’s electric registrations more than doubled to 19,120, accounting for 29% of the brand’s passenger-car sales.

Renault Group CEO François Provost has since reported EV order increases of up to 50% in France and Germany following the rise in fuel prices.

Renault said in June that it was considering extra shifts at its electric-car plants in Douai, Maubeuge, and Novo Mesto. At least in Douai, that ramp-up is now becoming concrete: a half-night shift is operating, 550 temporary workers have been recruited, and the plant will increase its production rate again in September.

Provost had cautioned that the exceptional intensity of EV demand could ease if petrol prices fell, but renewed US-Iran hostilities and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz have made such a decline less likely in the short term.

The underlying transition, he said, would continue even after the immediate fuel-price shock subsides.

Rivals see the same pattern

Renault is not alone. BMW said European orders for battery-electric cars increased by more than 60% in the first quarter, with EVs reaching 25.3% of its European deliveries.

Mercedes-Benz reported a 107% rise in European BEV orders, filling order books for the electric CLA, GLB, and GLC well into the second half of the year. Volkswagen Group’s European BEV deliveries grew by 12%, although its electric order intake rose by a more modest 4%.

The wider market is moving in the same direction, but not at the same speed everywhere. Battery-electric cars represented 20% of EU registrations during the first five months of 2026, up from 15.3% a year earlier.

Germany recorded growth of 40.9%, France 55.4%, and Italy 75.7%, while Belgium grew by only 2.8% from an already fleet-driven base. Hybrids remained the EU’s largest powertrain category with a 37.8% share.

Britain is further ahead, with BEVs taking 30% of the new-car market in June. Yet industry body SMMT says sustained discounting, company-car demand, and regulation are still doing much of the work, with three in four buyers not yet choosing a fully electric car.

That makes Wood’s “structural shift” credible, but not uniform or irreversible. Higher fuel prices have accelerated the change, while support and manufacturer discounts remain crucial.

The deeper shift is product-led: as EVs become more desirable, cheaper, and easier to use, buyers increasingly consider them on their merits rather than simply because policy dictates.