It’s been years since I’ve checked the used electric market, but I’m seeing cars like the Hyundai Ionic 6 or Polestar 2 for low 30s, where as they were in the high 40s or mid 50s new a year ago.
My suspicion is that:
- Normal car depreciation when driven off the lot
- General fear of batteries wearing down prematurely, even if the car has ~10k miles
- Any applicable federal rebates or otherwise have already been claimed and can’t be claimed on used vehicles(?)
Is there any other reason why these drop so quickly? Would buying one be considered foolish in anyway?
Fast moving new technology means a larger gap between the used and new market. Combine this with effects of smaller volumes per model and they start high and fall fast.
It will change, but ‘early adopters’ are carrying some of the costs of transition - though only realise losses at time of sale (so keeping the vehicle longer will cost you less than frequent refreshes).
Edit: and no, buying one is not foolish. For many consumers, a midrange EV is already a saving over a reasonable lifetime.
