Secondhand electric car market booms as drivers hunt for ‘middle-aged’ models

Used EV sales soar as bargain-hunters keen to go electric ‘when the price is right’

Bargain-hunting consumers are fuelling a surge in used electric vehicle (EV) sales amid a slowdown in the new car market.
Some 46,773 secondhand electric cars changed hands from April to June this year, an increase of 53pc compared to the same period last year.
That represented a record 2.4pc share of total used sales, up from 1.7pc previously, according to the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Petrol and diesel vehicles accounted for 92.4pc combined, with hybrids making up the remainder.
The top five best-selling used EVs, from first to fifth, were Tesla’s Model 3, the Nissan Leaf, the Kia Niro, the Jaguar I-Pace and the Mercedes-Benz EQC.
Separate data on Wednesday from Auto Trader, the online car dealer, showed the average selling price of a used Tesla Model 3 was £22,718.
Ian Plummer, Auto Trader’s commercial director, said surging used EV sales showed that “when the price is right buyers are eager to make the switch”.
He noted that “middle-aged” used EVs had seen particularly significant drops in price of late, adding: “Used EVs are currently selling at their fastest rate in eight months on our platform.”
Those aged between three and five-years-old were selling at the fastest rate, he said.
In that age bracket, Auto Trader said electric cars had now reached near-parity with petrol cars on price.
The average price of a three-to-five-year-old EV was £18,964 in July, compared to £18,076 for a similarly priced petrol car, the platform’s data showed.
The gap for new cars is far bigger. An average new EV on Auto Trader sells for £37,878 – more than £10,000 above the typical price tag for a comparable petrol model.
Auto Trader said the difference was down to a surge of EVs previously bought on finance or leasing contracts re-entering the market.
This has led to the supply of middle-aged EVs jumping by 108pc since the start of the year, although demand has increased by 152pc as well.
The strong second-hand figures come against a backdrop of lacklustre demand in the new car market, with the SMMT this week lowering its forecast for new EV sales in 2024.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: “The increased supply of electric vehicles to second and third owners is helping more motorists make the switch – underlining the importance of energising the new EV market to support a fair transition for all.
“Maintaining momentum requires reliable, affordable and green EV charging up and down the country and incentives to get all of Britain on board the net zero transition.”
Used cars represent the vast majority of the UK’s passenger car market, with roughly four in five of all sales involving a second-hand vehicle.
Overall the SMMT said there were 1,963,395 used car sales in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 7.2pc year-on-year.
Separately on Wednesday, Sixt, Europe’s biggest rental car provider, said it was cutting the number of electric cars it would hold because customers preferred combustion engine vehicles.
In a statement, the company said: “We direct our share of EVs according to consumer demand and can very quickly react to demand changes.”
Last year, Sixt had 170,000 vehicles of which just under 10,000 were electric.