EV discounts spark online interest

Trade Me Motors has experienced a sharp increase in the number of people searching for electric and hybrid vehicles on its site, with the biggest spikes in those hunting for second-hand EVs coming from the regions.

Jeremy Wade, head of the company, says views on EV listings increased 264 per cent when the government announced its rebate scheme when compared with the previous day, while views on hybrids also jumped 67 per cent on June 13.

He adds there was also a 290 per cent rise in the number of EVs on people’s watchlists and an 82 per cent increase for hybrids.

Trade Me has recorded 21,600 searches for EVs in the past seven days, which is 454 per cent higher than the week before, reports Stuff.

“Searches for ‘hybrid’ were also up by 72 per cent in the past seven days when compared to the week prior making it the fourth most searched for item on Trade Me,” notes Wade.

At the same time searches for Tesla vehicles shot up 83 per cent, while similar activity for the Nissan Leaf, pictured, grew by 175 per cent.

Wade says searches for petrol and diesel vehicles have remained stable despite the extra interest in EVs.