Octopus EV reveals Q3’s hottest electric cars as diesel hits £2 per litre

London, 8th October 2026 – Diesel drivers are being hammered at the pumps as prices hit £2 per litre, while a new generation of electric vehicles is battling it out to win over Britain’s motorists. 

Octopus Electric Vehicles, the UK’s biggest EV-only leasing company, has revealed its five best-selling electric cars for Q3 – and the results show just how quickly the market is moving.

Four of the five cars that made the Q2 top five remain in the top five. But every single one has changed position.

Innovation from car makers is broadening choice for drivers, who now have an increasingly broad range of electric cars competing for their attention.

The biggest winner is the OMODA E5, which has moved from fourth place to number one. It is followed by the JAECOO E5 and Leapmotor B10, while the Tesla Model Y slips into fourth position. The MG4 Urban storms into the top five in fifth.

And while the electric car rankings are shifting, diesel drivers are facing a very different battle. 

With diesel at around £2 a litre, filling a typical 55-litre family car now costs about £110. That's roughly 16.5 per mile. A long-range EV with a 109kWh battery, by comparison, can cost as little as £8 to charge on a smart EV tariff – or around 2p a mile, or roughly 9x less.

This comes as Britain’s appetite for electric cars is growing fast. New AutoMotive data shows that 100,000 electric cars were registered in September, with sales jumping 37% year on year. It was a record month for EVs and for Octopus Electric Vehicles, which saw growth outpace the market by 3 times in September.

The result is a market moving in two different directions: diesel is getting more expensive, while the demand for EVs is growing, with fierce competition driving choices for drivers.

Octopus Electric Vehicles’ Top Five Most Popular EVs – Q3 2026

Just outside the top ten, European manufacturers are also making their mark, with models including Citroën C3 Aircross, Vauxhall Frontera and Renault 5 attracting significant attention. Chinese brands may be bringing fresh competition, but European manufacturers are responding with innovation of their own – giving drivers more choice across a growing range of price points, particularly in the popular small-car market.

Alvin Castillo, Procurement Director at Octopus Electric Vehicles, said: 

“Diesel is getting more expensive while electric cars are becoming more competitive. Chinese brands are shaking up the market, but Europe is fighting back with exciting new models like the Renault 5. That's great news for drivers, with more choice, better value and innovation coming from every direction.

“Drivers are shopping across a much wider range of manufacturers than they were even a couple of years ago. Established household names are competing with brands that are relatively new to the UK, and that competition is pushing everyone to deliver better technology, more equipment and better value.

“That’s ultimately brilliant news for drivers. While the cost of sticking with diesel keeps climbing, the choice available to people considering an EV keeps getting better.”

Looking ahead to Q4 2026

Commenting on what to expect for the final quarter of the year, Castillo commented: “The pace isn’t slowing down. We’re seeing more models, more technology and more competition coming into the market, and that gives drivers more reasons to take another look at electric.

“The big change is that choosing an EV is becoming less about whether there’s a car that works for you and increasingly about which one you want. With fuel costs putting more pressure on household budgets, that breadth of choice is only going to become more important.”

-Ends-

Notes to editors:

Q3 rankings are based on Octopus Electric Vehicles order data supplied for the quarter.

Press Contact

Octopus Energy

press@octoenergy.com

0204 5308 369

Octopus Electric Vehicles

Octopus Electric Vehicles, part of the Octopus Energy Group, was launched in 2018 to make it easy for drivers to make the switch to clean, electric transport. With over 133 electric cars now available from 30 different brands, Octopus Electric Vehicles’ team provides everything drivers need to take the road in a new EV.

Offering an all-in-one service, Octopus lease the cars, install charge points, provide specialist EV energy tariffs, and offer access to over 1.4m public charge points across Europe via Octopus Electroverse - all with a 4.8* rating on Trustpilot.

Octopus Electric Vehicles also specialises in salary sacrifice schemes – an employee benefit that makes driving a brand new electric car even cheaper than the petrol or diesel equivalent through tax savings. Placing customer experience first, Octopus Electric Vehicles has designed the scheme to be simple for an employer to set up and run, and support them at every step. Drivers can typically save between 30-40% every month on the cost of their EV; and at zero-cost for an employer to set up, it’s great for their team, their hiring and retention, and for their sustainability goals.

More information can be found at octopusev.com.