Average used plug-in electric vehicle resale prices rose by 41% in the UK during the first quarter of the year, the online used car service Autorola has reported.
This compares to an overall used car resale price rise of 5.3% during the first quarter. In other words, the resale values of used plug-in electric vehicles in the UK are rising at a much faster clip than petrol and diesel cars are (diesel car resale values are of course actually flat, not just rising slowly).
Overall, used car prices rose to an average of £10,008 during the first quarter, up from £9,504 during the fourth quarter of 2017. What this means when taken as a whole is that used cars are becoming increasingly attractive to auto buyers in the UK — presumably on the back of lower discretionary income amongst much of the population in recent times.
A press release provides a bit more in the way of details: “Highlights of the first quarter trading in 2018 include a 41% increase in the average selling price for electric vehicles — up to £19,789 from Q4 2017’s £13,981. The number of EVs sold was relatively small, but it shows that dealers are beginning to consider EVs to add to their stock mix. Average age falling from 15 months to just 9 months, and mileage almost halving from 6,086 to 3,662 also helped contribute to this price increase.”
New plug-in electric vehicles are of course in many cases much more compelling than earlier models and model years were, so that makes sense.
Continuing: “There was also a significant 48% surge in numbers of diesels being sold in Q1 compared to Q4 2017, reinforcing prices are remaining strong despite the increase in disposal volumes.”
That surge is likely due to a desire by owners to get out ahead of any further depreciation that would accompany possible diesel car bans.
Providing an overview of the situation, Autorola UK’s group sales director, Jon Mitchell, stated: “Demand for used stock has been very strong during quarter one reinforcing that franchised dealers are turning their attention to selling more used cars as new car sales continue to fall, while independent dealers are simply selling more used cars. Diesel prices remain strong despite the higher volumes we saw coming onto our online portal, while used petrol prices have reached an all-time high. The used market has had a very positive quarter one.”
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