Dealers left ‘bruised’ by falls in used EV values

More than a third of used car dealers (36%) believe that the market for electric vehicles (EVs) has now stabilised.

This follows dramatic falls in values over the last year.

July’s Startline Used Car Tracker also shows that 20% of dealers expect to see further drops in value of up to 10%, while a further 30% believe that coming reductions will range between 10-20%.

Also, while 28% agree with the statement that the market is finding its level, 24% say that consumer demand for EVs remains limited.

Just 8% are concerned about the rapidly rising number of electric cars and vans that are soon expected to reach the used sector.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “The last year has been a turbulent one for the used EV market and many dealers have been left bruised by the reductions in values of stock that they have been holding.

“The picture now is pretty mixed, our research indicates. While more than a third think that the situation has stabilised, quite significant numbers believe that further falls are likely and some that those reductions will be pretty serious.

“An interesting point is that very few seem to be concerned about the huge numbers of ex-company car EVs that will quite soon start to hit the used market in comparatively large quantities. These will represent a significant step up in volumes and there will need to be a corresponding increase in demand if values aren’t to further suffer.”

This month, just 12% of dealers said that they didn’t stock EVs at all compared to 30% in May, while 22% say customer demand for EVs is now steady, against 2% three months ago.

Burgess said: “These numbers show quite a rapid change in dealer attitudes towards EVs. More retailers are stocking these vehicles while there is increased confidence around consumer demand. There is a chance that we are beginning to see, in these figures, a normalisation in the EV market following the last year.”