Auto Express spoke to Philip Nothard, insight director for motor-industry data services firm Cox Automotive. He said that “while attractive incentives and discounts may benefit consumers and fleet operators in the short term, they contribute to depreciation concerns for the used EV market. A surplus of heavily incentivised new BEVs entering the market devalues them far more quickly when they returnas used vehicles.”
Mark Bassford, director at Auto Data Solutions (ADS), told Auto Express that vehicle valuation firms have historically been “naive” when it comes to predicting the future value of EVs. He explained how companies “based EV pricing projections on their experience of ICE vehicles, but they didn’t perform in the same way”.
Auto Express research shows that the Tesla Model 3, for example, was predicted to retain 62 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles of ownership. Looking at data from 2024, however, the same car is only expected to hold on to 55 per cent of its original price – and the Tesla fares much better in this regard than many of its electric brethren.
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The Porsche Taycan, like most models from the German brand, was predicted to be a strong performer on the used market, with estimates claiming it’d retain 65 per cent of its initial value over the same three-year period. Now, forecasters reckon the sporty EV will only cling onto about 45 per cent of its asking price, resulting in a minimum loss of around £56,000.
The top-selling Vauxhall Corsa Electric is another major offender in terms of depreciation; forecasts in 2021 said the supermini would be worth 46 per cent of its value after three years – almost the same as the petrol model. However, its residuals have since fallen off a cliff, with the latest forecasts suggesting that a new Corsa EV will only be worth 29 per cent of its original price in three years.