The US-Israel war with Iran, even in light of recent developments, will continue to have a profound impact on fuel security for months, if not years, to come – just like with the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Mark Constable from the REA takes a look at how this is impacting motorists’ decisions in the UK.
There is a quiet and decisive shift underway in how we think about fuel security, and it is playing out on Britain’s roads. For decades, motorists have expected petrol and diesel to be readily available – this assumption is now under strain. Reports of forecourts running dry, queues forming at pumps, and emergency fuel distribution measures being readied are no longer hypothetical scenarios.
The UK’s dependence on external fossil fuel markets has rarely felt more exposed with diesel shortages and global instability from conflicts to supply chain disruptions placing pressure on imports.
People are really feeling the consequences of relying on volatile fossil fuels markets: pump prices have surged, heating oil has doubled, and energy costs are climbing sharply, with further increases expected. In such an environment, access to fuel becomes not just a matter of cost, but of priority. For many drivers, the likely outcome is simple: drive less, or not at all.
Electric vehicles (EVs) offer a fundamentally different proposition. Electricity supply in the UK, while not immune to price fluctuations, is far more resilient than liquid fuel logistics. Crucially, EV drivers are not tied to a single point of failure. Charging can happen at home, overnight, or while parked at work or shops which eliminates the need to queue and wait. Drivers can even generate the electricity themselves.
While these points have always been true, there’s increasing evidence that the fuel crisis is pushing the benefits of EVs front of mind for motorists. Across the country, the EV sector is seeing a significant uptick in interest, with more searches, more test drives and, vitally, more sales, particularly of used vehicles. The old complaints of “range anxiety” are now being drowned out by “pump anxiety”, as volatile petrol prices persist and drivers become genuinely concerned about when, where and how they’ll next be able to fill up.
Luckily for the thousands of people now considering making the switch to electric, they’re doing so against a backdrop of improving EV fundamentals: broader model availability, better battery range, more accessible price points, and increased supply of second and third generation products in the second-hand market. The government’s Electric Car Grant offers thousands of pounds of discounts off a wide range of EV models, and charging infrastructure is growing rapidly, with the latest figures showing a nearly 25% annual increase in UK chargepoints.
The electric transition is not without its challenges, and the wholesale price of the electricity used to power EVs is not immune to the rising costs we’re seeing from this most recent supply shock. There are also new, unhelpful tax requirements for EV drivers in the form of the eVED, which are not being levied equally on ICE vehicles. However, it’s now undeniable that the momentum is with electric vehicles.
Despite earlier scepticism from some legacy manufacturers, there has never been a more compelling case to make the switch. For most drivers, if it’s a choice between sitting in a long, uncertain queue for fuel or parking up at the supermarket and leaving your car to recharge while you shop, there’s only one clear winner.
If the impacts were seeing from the Iran War teach us anything, it’s that in these unstable times, access to fossil fuels is no longer a guarantee. With this in mind, we’re going to see a lot more people decide they want to take back control by switching to a vehicle that can run on clean, abundant, homegrown energy.
Mark Constable is the Head of Transport Policy at the Renewable Energy Association
