BuyaCar analysed tens of thousands of searches for EVs to identify the likelihood of a search converting into a sale.
They found that customers who search for an EV are significantly more likely to buy a car than those who search for an internal combustion engine (ICE) car.
In the case of BuyaCar's best-selling used EVs - the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe - the conversion of a search to a sale ranges from 17 times to more than 30 times higher than BuyaCar's most popular conventional car, the Mercedes A-Class.
Although EVs still account for a minority of BuyaCar's sales, analysts believe that those interested in an electric vehicle arrive on the site with a much higher commitment to buy the type of car they have in mind than those who search for conventional cars on sale.
The EV most likely to convert from a search to a sale on BuyaCar.co.uk is the Honda E, with 2.4 purchases for every 100 searches for that model. In contrast, it takes more than 1,000 searches for BuyaCar's runaway most popular conventional car, the Mercedes A-Class, to result in a sale.
This analysis paints a picture of much more serious intent to buy among those customers who search for electric vehicles compared with conventional cars.
Another stark illustration of the difference in commitment between conventional car shoppers and EV aficionados comes with search and sale data for the conventional Audi A3. Despite hundreds of thousands of searches over 12 months and a place in BuyaCar's top 10 selling vehicles, the Audi's conversion rate to sale is dwarfed by that for the BMW i3. It takes an average of just 200 searches for the BMW i3 to result in a sale, compared with 2,500 for the Audi.
The data were compiled during the first six months of 2021, during which time overall interest in EVs has remained stable at 7-8% of all searches where a fuel type was specified.
Christofer Lloyd, editor of BuyaCar.co.uk, said: "It is interesting to measure the difference in intent between car buyers who search for electric vehicles and those who look at petrol and diesel models.
"This analysis seems to paint a picture of a highly committed EV customer base which is confident about what it wants, in contrast with other car buyers who tend to browse more generally.
"This analysis is also valuable to car manufacturers and dealers who are always interested in understanding the difference between a casual enquiry and one with a stronger underlying commitment to purchase, because it suggests that the hottest leads of all come from those shopping for an EV.
"It is also notable that some car brands clearly enjoy an advantage when it comes to their reputation as EV producers. For example, the Volkswagen Golf tops the chart for most-searched-for electric car and the Nissan Leaf comes in third. But when it comes to a purchase, the Leaf maintains third place in terms of conversion, while the Golf drops out of the top 10."
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EV search rankings on BuyaCar.co.uk compared with conversion to sales |
|
Ranking (high to low) |
Searches |
Search-to-sale conversion |
|
1 |
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF |
HONDA E |
|
2 |
HYUNDAI KONA |
BMW I3 |
|
3 |
NISSAN LEAF |
NISSAN LEAF |
|
4 |
HYUNDAI IONIQ |
SMART FORFOUR |
|
5 |
RENAULT ZOE |
KIA SOUL |
|
6 |
PEUGEOT 208 |
TESLA MODEL S |
|
7 |
VOLKSWAGEN ID |
PEUGEOT 208 |
|
8 |
BMW I3 |
KIA E-NIRO |
|
9 |
PEUGEOT 2008 |
RENAULT ZOE |
|
10 |
MG ZS |
MG ZS |