Used electric car prices fall as secondhand market booms
The average price of secondhand EVs has fallen by more than £6,000 in the last year, according to new data.
New figures from analyst Marketcheck show that the volume of used electric cars has soared to record levels in the first half of 2024, bringing benefits for buyers.
As many company car and salary sacrifice lease deals come to an end, the used market is booming, helping drive down prices and bring EVs within reach of more and more buyers.
According to Marketcheck’s figures,13,421 used EVs were sold in June 2024, almost twice as many as the 7,073 sold a year earlier. As a result, average prices have fallen 20% from £30,441 in May 2023, to £24,378 in June 2024.
Separate data from online marketplace Autotrader shows a 17% decrease in used EV prices compared with a year ago.
Marketcheck’s Alastair Campbell commented: “The increased availability and more competitive pricing of used EVs offer great opportunities for buyers looking to make the switch to electric – as many more are choosing to do.
“Prices for sold stock have plummeted, and we expect this fall to continue from analysing the growing volume of sold EVs every month.
“Our research highlights that there has never been a better time to buy a used EV in the UK market – buyers and dealers should be aware of the potential opportunities. It is a booming market.”
Used EV prices have been volatile in recent years as uneven supply and demand has had an effect on the market. Premium models such as Audis, Jaguars and Teslas have been particularly vulnerable to steep reductions and the new Marketcheck figures show that Tesla values are still falling faster than average.
The average value of a used Tesla has fallen from £41,022.50 in May 2023 to £32,293.75 in May 2024 as the number of cars available per month has doubled.
Campbell put this down to the large number of lease deals on Teslas coming to an end. He commented: “Anyone on British roads will have noticed the surge in use of Teslas, and many of those were company cars or sold under the EV salary sacrifice employee schemes.
As these cars are coming off these deals and entering the used market, the combination of increasing volumes, Tesla’s own price cuts and higher interest rates are driving the sale price of these cars down in the used markets.
“They’re more affordable and private buyers are now starting to pick up some amazing bargains which is leading to the average days on the market starting to fall.
“We have seen 2020 Tesla Model 3s with as few as 65k miles on sale for £16k.”
While the data appears to be good news for private buyers, the BVRLA, which represents over 1,000 companies in rental, leasing and fleet management, has warned there is currently a ‘great divide’ between corporate and private buyers which could have a long-term effect on the leasing market.
Its latest data shows that across all fuel types, business contract hire is up 7.5% year on year, while personal contract hire has dropped by 11.3%. Sitting between the traditional company-provided car and a private registration, salary sacrifice is up 63% year on year, with the overwhelming majority of those registrations involving electric cars.
The BVRLA warned that as the leasing fleet becomes more heavily weighted towards electric vehicles, demand for EVs in the used market needs to keep pace to avoid residual values spiralling.
Toby Poston, BVRLA director of corporate affairs, said: “The current trajectory of the transition to EVs is increasingly one of the haves and the have-nots. Phase-out targets and sales mandates are beginning to force the industry’s hand but will not succeed in isolation.
“Where incentives have been present, registrations have followed. The sectors currently benefitting from such support cannot bear the weight of the full transition alone. As the divergence between corporate and new and used private demand grows, the financial risk associated with bearing that risk becomes unsustainable.”
