The full-electric Tesla Model X SUV is the fastest-selling used vehicle on the market, according to iSeeCars.com data.
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I once asked a stock broker why share prices had fallen on a particular day. His answer was brief, simple and described capitalistic market forces in a proverbial nutshell: “More sellers than buyers.”
That seems to be the fate of electric vehicles in recent months as a slurry of unfortunate circumstances is beginning to clog used-car lots with pre-owned EVs that are having a tough time finding new owners.
The contrarian in this market snapshot is Tesla. According to data compiled by the online used-vehicle marketplace iSeeCars.com, as of last month pre-owned Tesla models took an average 32.4 days on the market to sell, compared to 60.1 days for all other EVs and an overall 33.3-day turnaround.
The website says the now-discontinued Tesla Model X in particular was the fastest-selling used vehicle in the U.S. during March, at an average 25.6 days on the market. Perhaps surprisingly, the often mocked Tesla Cybertruck was the seventh-quickest-selling model in the pre-owned market, with a 33.3-day turnaround.
By comparison, the slowest-selling used vehicle last month was the Volvo XC60 at an average 197.7 days on the market. Four out of the 10 used vehicles sitting unsold for the longest periods are full-electric, including the GMC Sierra EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup trucks, and the Cadillac Escalade IQ and Chevrolet Blazer EV SUVs.
According to the old saw, one person’s loss is another’s gain, and that’s certainly true with regard to what is becoming a buyer’s market for pre-owned vehicles. While conventionally-powered models have taken a 2.8% drop in price over the past year, non-Tesla EVs are showing a whopping 10.3% deflation.
Actual Tesla models, on the other hand, remain in strong demand, taking a mere 0.1% price plunge, despite a preponderance of inventory. A Carfax search shows 10,729 listings nationwide (as of this writing) for pre-owned Tesla EVs, compared to just 1,879 Chevrolet EVs and 1,988 electric BMWs.
And there’s a good chance used EVs could become even more affordable in the months ahead, as an estimated 240,000 off-lease models are expected to enter the pre-owned market by year’s end according to the analytics company JD Power . More sellers than buyers, indeed.
While more buyers aren’t snapping up used EVs in the face of what have become sky-high gas prices, fuel-efficient hybrids are holding their own according to iSeeCars, seeing just an average 1.4% price drop in the past year.
“Many people assumed the recent spike in gas prices would mean a resurgence in EV demand, but hybrids have proven to be the real benefactor of rising fuel costs,” says iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “Hybrids are selling faster, retaining more value, and growing their market share faster than electric vehicles.”