Defleeted electric vehicles set to drive down used-EV prices

Prices of second-hand electric vehicles are set to drop as corporate leases come to an end, according to new data from New AutoMotive.
 
Companies now own around 475,000 electric cars, and 200,000 plug-in hybrids, most of which will be held for two to four years before being sold into the second-hand market for ~50% of the original value. Thanks to company-owned cars entering the second-hand market, the past six months has seen the median price of used EVs drop by £10,000, with used hybrid vehicles seeing an equally dramatic drop of £9,000.
 
On the findings, Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, comments: “It’s no surprise that since 2020 - when the tax rate on company purchased electric vehicles dropped to 0% - there’s been a huge uptick in the number of corporate electric vehicles on our roads.
 
“The government’s strategy was to encourage companies to be the early adopters of electric cars. As the first wave of company-owned electric cars are starting to flow into the used car market, motorists are reaping the rewards of the government's strategy. It’s a trend that’s set to accelerate as more second-hand vehicles appear on the market, forcing the price down even further and accelerating the UK’s transition to electric.
 
“The benefits of going electric will be increasingly available to people up and down the country, and it’s great to see that so many people are now able to purchase ex-corporate fleet cars on the growing used EV market.”