The majority of dealers see PHEVs as the stepping stone to an electric vehicle (EV) for car buyers worried about going fully electric.
The Startline July Used Car Tracker found 68% of buyers see PHEVs as a stepping stone and as a result, 60% expect values for PHEVs to rise and 48% expect demand to similarly increase.
However, many expect this trend to be transitory, with only 37% thinking PHEVs will have a long-term market presence and 37% believing motorists will start to reject them for EVs.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “While there are now strong indications that the market for used EVs is improving quite rapidly, there remains a sizeable cohort of car buyers who are concerned about factors such as accessing charging.
“For them, PHEVs are emerging as a halfway house to electrification, providing some electric range but also the reassurance of a combustion engine. It makes sense that they are becoming more popular.
“It’s interesting though, that more than a third of dealers believe their current rise will pass as more drivers opt for a full EV. They think that while PHEVs are very much on an upwards trajectory right now, their drivers will move onto fully electric cars in time.”
Just 13% of dealers say the government’s recent changes to the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, which means PHEVs can now stay on sale until 2035, has had an impact on the situation.