SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Sydney-based reseller Rosco Jewell has increased his used electric vehicle sales from roughly one every two months to one every two weeks since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran this month. Jewell, who operates Amazing EV, said supply has tightened and prices have climbed across the second-hand market.

"It is now getting very hard to find used EVs to buy in the $20,000 to $50,000 range. And we've also seen prices increase by 10 to 15 percent – in some cases, 20 percent as well," Jewell said.

Conflict in the Middle East has coincided with rising petrol and diesel prices worldwide, and demand for electric vehicles has been climbing in numerous countries. In March, battery EVs accounted for 14.6 percent of total vehicle sales in Australia, nearly double the proportion in March 2025, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Australia imports about 80 percent of its petrol and diesel needs, and the government said the country had about one month of fuel in reserves, with upcoming shipments secured through to May.

At Evolve Motors, one staff member sold seven Teslas in a single Saturday. The dealership had more than 100 Teslas in stock and now has almost none. "I am trying to replace everything we have, but it is difficult," said Kevin Alberica, operations and sourcing manager at Evolve Motors. "You have a lot of business owners that have diesel vans come in and buy a Tesla Model," he said.

The pattern extends beyond Australia. Chinese manufacturers reported an 82.6 percent rise in month-on-month EV sales in March, according to the China Automotive Dealers Association. US EV sales last month topped 82,000 units, down by one quarter year over year and up by more than 20 percent from February, according to Cox Automotive. Vinfast reported a 127 percent rise in year-on-year EV sales in Vietnam in March. Japan's EV sales nearly tripled year-on-year last month, and South Korea saw domestic EV purchases increase by 172 percent. France recorded a three-fold increase in new registrations of Tesla cars, with Norway, Sweden and Denmark reporting similar surges.

"We're now in a period in the 2020s where we've seen two fossil fuel shocks, one after the other," said Euan Graham, an analyst at Ember. "I would really expect this to be a kind of permanent shift in the pace of EV adoption in a number of countries," he said.

The New South Wales government unveiled a $71 million initiative to fund the installation of EV chargers in regional areas.