Finally, used electric cars are now cheaper than petrol and diesel cars. No this isn’t clickbait; data from Cap HPI shows that heavy depreciation has meant that buying a used EV is often cheaper at the point of sale than the equivalent petrol or diesel car. That’s before you even get into the reduced running costs.
After three years, Cap HPI says the average electric car is around 8.5 per cent cheaper than its petrol or diesel counterpart, rising to 14 per cent when it’s four years old. With EV technology developing at an accelerated pace and consumer confidence in older models on the weaker side, the values of most EVs typically halve over just two years, meaning there are plenty of bargains to be had on the used market.
Of course, prices can vary significantly from model to model. Looking at Cap HPI’s own data we can see, for example, that the average price of a three-year-old, 36,000-mile Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate is around £9,925 for a petrol model and £8,750 for the Electric – despite the latter costing roughly £6,000 more when new.
There are some outliers, however, with a used Hyundai Kona Electric of the same age and mileage as the aforementioned Corsa is virtually the same price as the equivalent mild-hybrid version. At the other end of the scale, the BMW i7 actually holds its value much better than its plug-in hybrid 7 Series sibling, although both models suffer very high levels of depreciation.