Used electric vehicles available at half the price of new EV

A used electric vehicle (EV), with less than 10,000 miles on the clock, can be bought for half the price of a new electric car, according to analysis of used values by the AA.

A Vauxhall e-Corsa, which starts from £33,930 new, could be bought for less than £17,000 with less than 7,000 on the clock and manufactured in 2021 on the AA Cars website.

Likewise, a Hyundai Ioniq Premium, which starts at £43,445 new, could be bought for around £17,500 for a model only one year old.

AA president Edmund King says it is crucial for fleets to lead the way to mainstream electrification as most drivers buy their cars second-hand which depends on a heathy used car market evolving from fleet sales.

However, recent research from Bridgestone and Webfleet suggested that more than three quarters of fleets (76%) are delaying the move to electrification due to cost pressures.

Kind said: “There appears to be some stalling along the road to electrification from three quarters of fleets trying to save on capital costs.

“For some fleets this could backfire as they will miss out on lower running costs whilst being hit with higher repair bills on an aging fleet.

“It will also have a knock-on effect and further delay the uptake of EVs into the mass market.”

He continued: “Used EVs are trading at 47% of their original value, compared to 67.1% for petrol, 65.1% for diesel, 72.8% for hybrids and 62.7% for plug-in hybrids. These comparisons are based on vehicles of 36 months old or 60,000 miles.

“This means there are some bargains out there and it could push those in two minds to make the leap to electric.

“Hybrid values seem to support that, showing popularity among those wanting to keep a foot in both camps.

“Drivers should remember that running costs for an EV are considerably lower, they drive well, are better for the environment and are fun to drive.”

Share of EVs in used market increases

The analysis of used EV prices comes as Indicata reports that the market share of used EVs rose above 3% for the first time as sales slowly increased during April.

It says that used EV sales rise by 0.3% in April driven by a price fall of a further 2.7% in the month. Used EVs have now fallen by 21.2% over the first four months of 2023 (from January 1 to May 1).

Used EV stock levels have moved significantly in 2023 with Market Days’ Supply (MDS) falling from 168 to 65 days.

The MDS metric measures the available stock against sales at the current run rate to determine how many selling days the available stock can cover.

That compares with diesel which became the UK’s fastest-selling powertrain in April with an MDS of just 35.8 days.

Petrol cars meanwhile moved into May with an MDS of 46.4 days and hybrids 52 days.

“The used EV ecosystem seems to be settling down with falling prices translating into demand and sales which is helping keep stock levels in check,” said Jon Mitchell, Indicata’s group sales director.

“What is interesting is the renewed focus on diesel which shows there is still significant demand in a market where fuel efficiency is still a key priority. We saw diesel stock levels fall during April on the back of growing sales,” he added.

There is also evidence of new car supplies starting to improve following a healthy March plate change.

In April, this translated into tactical sales by OEMs and dealers of sub-12-month-old cars increasing sharply.

Overall used car prices rose by 0.1% in April fuelled by strong demand for value and prestige used cars. This was reflected in the fastest-selling used car table, which was topped by the Tesla Model 3, closely followed by the Dacia Duster and the BMW X3.

The VW Golf remained the country’s top-selling used car followed by the Ford Fiesta and Mercedes-Benz A-Class.