Demand for electric vehicles in Europe has surged as high fuel prices linked to the Iran war propel sales of new and second-hand EVs, data exclusively shared with Reuters shows, providing a much-needed boost to the auto industry. Although sales of fully electric cars grew 30% across Europe in 2025, EV adoption on the continent has lagged industry expectations. Carmakers from Volkswagen to Fiat-owner Stellantis, which had invested heavily in expectation of much higher EV demand, have over the last year booked multi-billion-dollar charges to cover asset writedowns. Buyers' calculations have been transformed by an upsurge in international oil prices to well above $100 a barrel since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran at the end of February unleashed a wider conflict and led to unprecedented energy supply disruption.