Used electric cars have nosedived in value in 2023 – This is Money

Some electric car owners have seen the value of their vehicles plummet in value by thousands of pounds already this year as demand for second-hand battery models continues to crash.

Exclusive figures shared with This is Money show that all 20 second-hand cars that have deflated most significantly in price since the start of the year across all fuel types are EVs – while not a single one appears in the list of the 20 biggest value risers in the first half of 2023.

It means some second-hand EVs are now cheaper to buy than their petrol equivalents – bad news for those who paid through the nose for a new one but great for drivers wanting an affordable way into electric car ownership. 

Here’s the countdown of the biggest price fallers so far this year – as we ask experts to explain why used electric car values are nosediving at such an alarming rate. 

We’ve teamed up with car valuations provider cap hpi to exclusively tell you which models are the biggest price fallers and risers in 2023 so far.

This isn’t a measure of depreciation – when a car becomes less valuable due to its increasing age and mileage – but an analysis of deflation over the last six months.

That means we have compared the average price of a three-year-old car with 30,000 miles on the clock on 1 January to what the price of a three-year-old, 30,000 example was six months later on 30 June.

The analysis is only inclusive of mainstream models – so no supercars, niche small-production vehicles or odd-ball motors. 

Electric vehicles account for all 20 of the biggest used car price fallers

Cap hpi provided the 20 biggest price risers and fallers for the year so far, and the latter list is made-up exclusively of EVs.

Here’s the top 10 countdown, and we’ve also included the biggest decliners from 11 to 20 in a boxout below. 

10. Vauxhall Mokka-e (2020-present) – down 32.0%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £21,650

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £14,713

6-month price fall: £6,938

Vauxhall’s Mokka Electric is without question one of the most unique-looking electric SUVs on the market, with boxy proportions and short overhangs that’s unlike anything else on the market.

With an official range of up to 209 miles, it’s not the furthest-travelling model on a single charge, but good enough for those who aren’t regularly enduring long journeys on Britain’s motorway network.

Cap hpi’s data shows that values are down some 32 per cent in the last year alone, with a three-year-old car with average mileage deflating from £21,650 at the beginning of 2023 to just over £14,700 by the mid-way point – that’s a loss of almost £7,000.

9. Volkswagen e-Golf (2014-2020) – down 32.6%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £19,350

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £13,050

6-month price fall: £6,300

Long before Volkswagen launched its ‘ID’ electric car range, the German manufacturer was retrofitting its most popular combustion-engined models with batteries and motors to drive with zero emissions.

The e-Golf is one of those vehicles, using the Mk7 Golf as the platform. The initial 115hp version launched in 2014 managed just 118 miles between charges. However, Volkswagen improved it in 2017, with the updated model getting 136hp and an increased battery range to 188 miles.

Yet the demand for these cars has going into reverse in 2023. A three-year-old model at the start of the year would have set you back almost £20,000 but now is worth a fraction over £13,000 – that’s deflation of 32.6 per cent. 

8. Renault Zoe (2019-present) – down 32.7%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £14,857

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £9,993

6-month price fall: £4,864

If you’re on the hunt for a small – relatively affordable – EV for nipping around town, the Renault Zoe is likely high on the shopping list. It’s had a number of updates over the years but remains one of the best compact car packages there is.

However, it hasn’t been able to escape painful deflation in the last six months.

By the mid-point of 2023, a three-year-old Zoe is worth almost £5,000 less than it would have been on 1 January. In fact, you can now pick one up for less than £10,000.

7. Hyundai Ioniq (2016-2022) – down 33.1%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £18,425

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £12,325

6-month price fall: £6,100

Hyundai’s Ioniq was one of the Korean brand’s first mainstream fully-electric models it sold in showrooms – alongside a conventional and plug-in hybrid variant.

With a maximum range of 194 miles, lots of space in the back and a reasonable boot, the Ioniq is not a bad option for second-hand EV buyers on a budget.

And if you want a three-year-old example, you will only have to pay just over £12,000 for one today rather than close to £18,500 at the start of the year. This is because the value of these EVs have dropped 33.1 per cent in the opening six months of 2023. 

6. Nissan Leaf (2017-present) – down 33.2%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £18,725

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £12,538

6-month price fall: £6,188

Assembled in Britain and among the most popular electric cars since it first hit showrooms, Leaf has been a success story for Nissan, not least with the arrival of the second-generation car just over half a decade ago.

Depending on battery size, customers were promised a range of 168 to 239 miles between charges for a practical hatchback that could easily accommodate a small family.

But used values are falling dramatically in 2023 as a result of slumping demand for used EV models. At the beginning of the year, a three-year-old model would have cost £18,725 but by the end of June has slipped to just £12,500. 

5. Hyundai Kona Electric (2018-2022) – down 33.5% 

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £22,238

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £14,794

6-month price fall: £7,444

Hyundai has recently launched an all-new electric Kona, but the first-generation car was a very good platform to start from. 

Owners could – with modest driving techniques – eek up to 300 miles out of the compact SUVs between charges, which is mightily impressive for an EV at the lower end of a market dominated by premium prices.

However, it seems demand for second-hand variants isn’t what it was last year. At the beginning of 2023, you would have needed to pay over £22,200 for a three-year-old Kona Electric. But today, the same-age car can be hand for less than £14,800.

=3. Peugeot e-208 (2019-present) – down 33.7% 

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £18,615

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £12,340

6-month price fall: £6,275

The e-208 might be small, but with a claimed range of 224 miles between charges it can go for longer. 

Yet owners of Peugeot’s electric supermini have seen the value of their cars deflate substantially in the last six month as a result of the fall in demand for used EVs.

A three-year-old example with 30,000 miles on the clock would have cost £18,615 at the start of the year but by the half-way point is £12,340 – that’s a loss of 33.7 per cent.

=3. Vauxhall Corsa-e (2019-present) – down 33.7% 

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £17,300

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £11,463

6-month price fall: £5,838

Holding joint third in the biggest used car fallers of 2023 is the Vauxhall Corsa-e – which shares the bottom step of the podium with its sister car, the Peugeot e-208.

Despite the recent success of the Corsa model line – including topping Britain’s new-car sales chart in 2021 and coming in second last year – the Corsa-e wasn’t among the 10 best-selling EVs last year.

And demand for used examples seems to be dwindling, as the value of a three-year-old version with 30k on the clock is now £5,800 lower than it was at the beginning of 2023. 

2. Kia Soul EV (2014-2019) – down 36.7%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £18,100

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £11,450

6-month price fall: £6,650

There’s a newer Soul EV on the market but it hasn’t suffered quite the same level of deflation as its predecessor, which very much represents the early dawn of electric cars on the UK market.

With a range of just 132 miles between charges, it’s fair to say the Soul isn’t a battery vehicle for frequent long trips.

A spike in demand for this relatively affordable EV in recent years has now seen values come down again with a bump. A 36.7 per cent bump this year alone, in fact, as the average second-hand price is down to £11,450 at the end of June compared to £18,100 at the start of January.  

1. Seat Mii Electric (2019-2022) – down 40.0%

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 1 January 2023: £14,500

Avg value (3-years old, 30k miles) on 30 June 2023: £8,700

6-month price fall: £5,800

If you’re in the market for a green urban runaround, the Seat Mii Electric makes a solid choice on paper. The sister model to the VW e-Up and Skoda Citigo e iV has a claimed range of 162 miles on a single charge and is bundled-up into an attractive city car package with lots of equipment and build quality.

Production only ended last year but used values have gone into freefall in 2023.

The average three-year-old car with 30,000 miles on the clock would have set buyers back £14,500 at the start of the year – today you can get one fitting the same description for £8,700 – a loss in value of £5,800, or 40 per cent. 

 Where are all the Teslas, we hear you ask?

While not one Tesla model features in the top 10 list of fastest depreciating cars for 2023 so far, there is good reason for this.

Values of the US brand’s relatively expensive EVs dramatically declined in the final months of 2022. That means much of the value drop was recorded before 1 January 2023.

However, looking at 12-month data and Elon Musk’s motors are prominent among the biggest price deflators.

A year ago, a three-year-old Model 3 with 30,000 miles of the clock would have been changing hands for £40,400, cap hpi says. Today, the value of a Model 3 fitting that description is just £27,625 – a loss of £12,775 (or 31.6 per cent) in 12 months. 

In the last year, Model S used prices are down £17,200 (or 28.6 per cent) and Model X down £16,383 (24.8 per cent), the valuations experts tell us.

Model Y doesn’t feature because it hasn’t been on sale for three years and therefore there isn’t data available. 

Why are the top 20 biggest used car price fallers in 2023 all electric cars? 

Derren Martin, cap hpi’s director of valuations explains why EV values have dropped like a stone this year

This is Money: What’s triggered the used price fall? 

Derren Martin: Electric vehicles have suffered a difficult period in the used car market. For a number of reasons they dominant any list of the biggest fallers in value over the last six months. 

Initially, many EVs were particularly expensive in comparison to petrol and diesel equivalents, sometimes the same model being £10,000 more with electric propulsion. 

Secondly, range anxiety remains an issue, or at least concern on where consumers are going to charge and how long it will take on longer journeys – the cold weather over the winter not helping as this generally diminishes the available range. 

Thirdly, there is the cost to charge. With prices of electricity having increased and fossil fuels reducing over winter months, it became as expensive to charge your EV as to fill up your ICE [internal combustion engine] car, particularly if not predominantly charging at home. 

Finally, supply levels of electric vehicles increased in the used market. Cars written on three or four year contracts are now coming back in volume and are not being matched by demand. 

TiM: What will happen to used EV values for the rest of the year? 

DM: Consumer demand has improved, but many dealers remain wary of buying EVs for stock. 

A number of EVs now do look far more reasonably priced and the retail data shows that certain models are now selling far quicker than others. 

For example, the Tesla Model 3 is now selling at an average of below 30 days whereas, other EVs such as the Vauxhall Corsa Electric and Mokka Electric, Mini Cooper Electric, Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf all see average days to sell at over 65 days.

However, a number of EVs continued to drop heavily in value. 

After nine months of value drops, some of the more aspirational and premium models are now attainable to more consumers that are interested in an EV. 

As a result, some models at the lower end of the price spectrum, particularly if the electric range does not compare favourably with others, are dropping in value, as they are simply too close to more aspirational vehicles.

There is also the situation where some EVs are now far cheaper than ICE equivalents and still not selling in enough volume to halt values from dropping, for example the Golf and Mokka Electric variants sit some £4,000 to £5,000 below the similarly powered petrol variant. 

Demand needs to improve as more of these cars enter the used market.