American tourists are increasingly using 'gasoline to pay for electricity'.

According to data from Edmunds cited by Carscoops , the shift from gasoline to electric vehicles is showing strong growth in the US.

In the first month of the year, approximately 67.1% of American customers buying new electric cars at dealerships had traded in a used gasoline car. By April, that percentage had surged to 72.1%. Edmunds' data shows this isn't a temporary trend, as similar developments have been observed among customers upgrading to electric vehicles.

Earlier this year, about 26.2% of American buyers chose to trade in a used electric car for a brand-new electric vehicle. This percentage surged to 35.4% in April, despite the elimination of a $7,500 federal tax incentive and several other local incentives in the U.S.

Speaking to CNBC , Ivan Drury, senior director of data analytics at Edmunds, said it was still too early to draw definitive conclusions or to confirm whether this was just a short-term effect of the Middle East conflict driving up fuel prices.

“Gasoline prices started to rise sharply when the conflict in Iran began in late February. About three months later, with gasoline prices at high levels, coupled with a large percentage of customers choosing to trade in their old gasoline cars for electric vehicles, it will be a clearer indication of whether customers are feeling enough pressure from fuel costs to consider switching to electric vehicles,” Ivan Drury commented.

According to Cox Automotive, the used car price index they measure is currently about 4% higher than the same period last year. Electric vehicles are leading this trend, with significantly higher increases compared to conventional gasoline cars.

Data from this unit also shows that electric vehicle prices are rising faster, and this group is also holding its value better than purely internal combustion engine vehicles.

In the secondary market, three-year-old electric vehicles have outsold gasoline-powered cars for six consecutive weeks, currently selling 11% higher than at the beginning of the year.

According to Cox Automotive data, the price of used gasoline-powered SUVs and CUVs increased by an average of only 0.3% compared to the same period last year.

Conversely, gasoline-powered compact cars in the US recorded a 7.6% price increase. Carscoops noted that this segment is characterized by its fuel efficiency compared to the average, so the aforementioned growth is consistent with current market trends.