Running out of power: Value of used electric cars drops by a fifth, plummeting in price by a quarter in a year
Running out of power: the value of used electric cars drops by a fifth and the price drops by a quarter in a year
Prices of second-hand electric cars have fallen by almost a quarter in a year, figures show, while consumer confidence has fallen.
Dealers have warned that electric vehicles (EVs) are ‘sitting on the forecourt for months at a time losing value’, with some at risk of being sold at a loss if the market does not recover.
Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak ditched the 2030 target for a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, postponing it until 2035.
The Prime Minister warned that imposing “unacceptable costs” on families risks wiping out support for saving the planet.
The move, which aligns Britain with the European Union, was a victory for The Mail’s campaign to reconsider the 2030 deadline.
Dealers have warned that electric vehicles (EVs) ‘sit on the forecourt for months losing value’ (file image)
Half-monthly figures for September released by AutoTrader – the largest online car marketplace – show the average price of a used EV has fallen by 21.4 per cent to £32,463.
Premium sector EVs, including Tesla, BMW, Mini and Mercedes-Benz, were the hardest hit – with a drop in value of as much as 24.1 percent year-on-year.
The data, reported by The Times, shows that prices for second-hand premium sector EVs peaked at £51,704 last August and have since fallen by more than £10,000 to £39,268.
Marc Palmer, head of strategy and insights at AutoTrader, said: ‘The second-hand market will now mature more slowly. Fewer new electric cars will be registered and fewer used cars will enter the market.
‘There will be parts of the public, especially those who are sceptical, who will want to wait.
‘Used cars make up the majority of the industry, but it will take longer to get the majority of motorists into used electric cars. There’s a lot up in the air.’
Premium sector EVs, including Tesla, BMW, Mini and Mercedes-Benz, were the hardest hit – with values down as much as 24.1 percent year-on-year (file image)
Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak abandoned a 2030 target for a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, postponing it until 2035.
Figures revealed earlier this week also showed that sales of new zero-emission vehicles to private buyers have fallen by more than 11 percent.
Umesh Samani, president of the Independent Motor Dealers Association, which represents more than a thousand traders, said the postponement of the ban on petrol and diesel cars has “given everyone some breathing space”.
He said: ‘It has been so volatile that dealers are very scared of getting involved with electric cars.
‘Many of our members are stuck with electric cars on their forecourts that they can’t move, even if they drop by £2,000 to £3,000 a month. That’s a phenomenal amount.’
