A surge of affordable used EVs is about to hit the market—at exactly the same time as drivers are looking to avoid high gas prices.
Around 300,000 EV leases are set to expire this year, driven by a leasing boom that started around three years ago, when leasing offered the widest range of models eligible for federal tax credits. A wave of hybrid leases is also expiring this year. At the same time, there are fewer used gas cars on the market than usual because of slow sales in 2023 and 2024.
Used EV sales are already strong, even as the rest of the EV market is struggling. Right now, buying an electric car can be a better deal than a similar used gas vehicle. At $20,000 to $30,000, a typical used gas option might be a five-year-old Toyota Camry or RAV4 with 50,000 miles, according to Recurrent, a company that studies the EV industry. In the same price range, you can get a Tesla Model 3 or Volkswagen ID.4 that’s a year newer, with 20,000 fewer miles on it. For cars that cost less than $20,000, the average EV is two years newer than a gas car, with 40,000 fewer miles.
“For the same amount of money, you’re getting a newer used car with lower miles on it and more technology,” says Scott Case, Recurrent’s cofounder and CEO. “And also, right from the jump, you’re saving a substantial amount of money in gas prices.”
EVs have depreciated faster than gas cars in part because the technology is improving so quickly; the latest models have the best features. But for budget-conscious buyers, a two or three-year-old EV is still a good option and “very undervalued,” Case says.
When the Trump administration ended EV tax credits last September, including incentives for used EVs, sales were expected to plummet. “Everyone thought, ‘That’s it for EVs—there aren’t going to be more sales,’” says Case. “I think to an extent that was true on the new side—there was just a ton of pull-forward demand and Q4 was really, really soft. But we work with used EV specialists all over the country and almost immediately—October 1st, the day after the deadline—we were hearing from dealers all over that were selling used EVs.” By December, used EV sales were up 10.2% year-over-year. Total used EV sales in 2025 were up 35% compared to 2024. More than half of the inventory is $30,000 or less.
Now, as leases end, there will be many more options. “What that means is that for consumers who have found new car sales to be too high and have wanted to get an electric vehicle but have found it too pricey in the past, they’re now going to have two or three-year-old vehicles that are top quality, and still under EV battery warranty,” says Corey Cantor, research director at the nonprofit Zero Emission Transportation Association.
