New data has revealed that three-year old electric car values fell two per cent in December, or £350.
According to Percayso Vehicle Intelligence, this decline follows a similar fall in prices in November.
In contrast, prices of petrol, diesel and hybrid models remained relatively steady over the same period, coming down just 0.75%, 0.5% and one per cent respectively.
Percayso has attributed the variations in market values to traditional seasonal cooling alongside aggressive electric vehicle incentives from manufactures striving to meet ZEV Mandate targets.
Across the whole used car market, retail values at the three-year point were down one per cent in December, or £200, while average prices of one-year-old vehicles reduced by 1.6%.
Little incentive
Derren Martin, automotive expert, said: “The used car retail market remains strong, although perhaps there should be a warning around EVs, which have dropped by the most of any fuel type in the last two months. OEMs need to focus on used EVs to ensure strong future residual values.
“Currently, there remains little incentive, apart from price, for consumers to buy a used EV, and attractive finance rates on new electric cars can provide a short-term win by switching a buyer into a new car rather than a used one.
“Monthly payments and the whole industry rely on strong used car values at the end of a new car lease. Many will hope the government puts some focus on the used BEV market in 2026. As for this year, January has started at a steady pace, and there is likely to be a small uplift in overall retail prices by the end of the month.”
