More consumers need to buy new EVs to provide the used sector with appropriate stock, the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) has heard.
Andy Webb, head of sales for valuations platform Brego, told the VRA’s September meeting that fleet dominance of the EV market meant there were too many medium and large electric cars entering the remarketing cycle, and not enough smaller ones for everyday buyers.
Webb said: “We’re seeing a skewing of the used EV market towards manufacturers and models for which there is limited demand in the market and this has been the primary reason for the collapse in EV values over the last few years. If there had been more ‘normal’ EVs around, the falls we have seen may have been much more limited.
“While the situation is improving slightly, with fleets beginning to buy some smaller, cheaper EVs, there is a very real possibility that the used market will not begin to function correctly until we see consumers buying more new EVs.
“They will eventually provide the kind of stock that the market needs, rather than what it is currently getting.”
The meeting also heard from Martin Miller, founder of dealer EV Experts, who argued that there were reasons for optimism.
He said: “There is no doubt we have been through some considerable pain within the EV market but it really does feel as though things are changing for the better.
“The factors behind this are numerous but the kind of price parity that we are now seeing between comparable EVs and petrol cars is important and, every time there is an increase in petrol prices, we see increased interest for consumers.
“Especially when petrol hits £1.50 per litre, it seems to be a tipping point, concentrating the minds of motorists on the kind of savings that are available from going electric.”
