Falling prices mean that many second-hand EVs are either the same price or almost equal to comparable petrol models.
Data from Auto Trader revealed that used EV prices stabilised in September after 12 months of decline and were 22% below last year’s levels. In September ‘22, 6% of used electric stock was in the £10,000-£20,000 price bracket, in September ‘23 this had grown to 22%.
Ian Plummer, commercial director of Auto Trader, commented: “We’ve seen demand for used electric cars reach near record levels, fuelled by an enticing combination of improved availability and affordability. On average, used EV prices fell around 22% during Q3 compared with last year, with many models now costing the same as their traditionally fuelled counterparts. Prices are beginning to stabilise, but with used EVs now accounting for about 8% of all used car enquiries sent to retailers through our platform, all metrics point to this positive sales trend continuing.”
Plummer cited several examples of near price parity:
Example one:
3 year old Renault Zoe vs 3-year old Renault Clio
Sep 2022 – ICE cheaper by £7,000
Sep 2023 – no price gap
Example two:
3-year old Tesla Model 3 vs 3-year old BMW 3 Series
Sep 2022 – ICE cheaper by £20,000
Sep 2023 – ICE cheaper by £1,000
Example three:
3-year old Jaguar I-PACE vs 3-year old Jaguar F-PACE
Sep 2022 – ICE cheaper by £13,000
Sep 2023 – electric cheaper by £4,000
The drop in price of used EVs has been attributed to ‘tepid demand’ for the cars from the public due to high electricity prices and ‘mixed messages’ from the government on its Net Zero policy.
