An astonishing change has taken place in the prices of used electric cars between December 2021 and May 2022: While just six months ago there was a drastic drop in prices even for young used e-cars, some models are now more expensive than new cars. How is this possible?
Status December 2021
There have been long waiting times for new electric cars for years. Naturally, interested parties then also take a look around on the market for used e-cars, but were probably only rarely able to decide to buy by the end of 2021. This was the result of a Civey survey published in December 2021. This also meant that the price of used e-cars fell very quickly. Basically, they had a real image problem at that time, because the general public did not trust the durability of the batteries. After all, there are no empirical values on this for decades yet, because a) electric cars have not existed as a separate mass category for that long and b) the technologies have developed very quickly in recent years. So it may be that an electric car built in 2018 is on the road with a battery whose technology is long outdated. So the buyer thinks: Hands off. There must already be something much better. In December 2021, Civey was able to determine that the depreciation of e-cars significantly exceeds that of internal combustion cars after a very short time (about three years from the year of manufacture). Other results of the survey were also interesting:
- 55 % of those surveyed at the time did not want to buy a used e-car as a matter of principle.
- 29 % could imagine such a purchase.
- 16 % were undecided in this respect.
- There was one exception in the age group of 18 to 29-year-olds: Of these, about 50 % could imagine buying, the other half could not in principle.
The ADAC conducted its own research into this phenomenon and at the end of 2021 was of the opinion that the newer e-cars that had come onto the market from 2020 onwards would probably fetch higher prices as used cars because they were equipped with newer battery technologies.
Image: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Premiums for electric cars: Problem for used cars
Of course, the premium for new electric cars was also a problem for the used car market until the end of 2021. There is no premium for the e-used ones, so there was hardly any financial difference between a new and a used electric car. This meant that six months ago, buyers were inevitably much more likely to opt for a new e-car.
Status May 2022
In May 2022, the picture has changed fundamentally, because in the meantime the prices for e-used vehicles are shooting up significantly. This is reported by the e-mobility portal Electrek, among others. There are probably several reasons for this:
- Used electric cars are available immediately, while there are still very long waiting times for new cars. For Tesla, they are up to nine months.
- The end of the internal combustion engine is coming: In Germany, internal combustion vehicles may only be built until 2035. Other countries have passed or are planning similar laws. Many buyers are now telling themselves that they should switch to electromobility sooner rather than later.
- Due to the Ukraine war, the prices for fossil energies have risen sharply. This is making itself felt at petrol stations around the world.
The portal Electrek cites some remarkable examples of the sudden rise in the price of used e-cars. A 2020 version of the Tesla Model Y currently costs over 1,000 dollars (~950 euros) more than the new car with a mileage of 30,000 kilometres in the USA. The Tesla Model 3 year of construction 2020 even rose in price regionally up to 10,600 dollars (~10,000 euros). Similar developments can be observed on the German market. However, the Tesla example is an exception, probably based on the fact that these cars have become more expensive as new cars in recent years. Particularly in demand at the moment are used electric cars with few kilometres on the clock. Conclusion: The market is on the move.
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