The conflict has seen a spike in fuel prices and DoneDeal said there has been a 125% increase in EV-specific searches on its site as drivers “look to insulate themselves from pump-price volatility”.

New measures taken by the government to reduce the cost of fuel took effect yesterday, although the fuel industry’s representative group said customers will not see those cuts reflected at the pump immediately.

Diesel prices have gone up more than petrol because it is harder to refine and DoneDeal said diesel-specific searches have fallen by close to 20% over the same period.

Hybrid searches meanwhile have risen by 43%.