Increasing interest in alternatively-powered vehicles has helped boost used electric values by 7% this year.
That’s according to automotive data giant Cap HPI, which said more than 60,000 new alternatively fuelled vehicles have been registered so far in 2017, which in turn is pushing up used values as volumes increase.
The firm said that range-extender models such as the BMW i3 are driving most of the recent growth thanks to good specification levels and brand prestige.
Cap HPI added that the Nissan Leaf with the larger 30kW/h powertrain is attracting higher used values than versions fitted with the smaller 24kW/h motor. The firm also said that values of petrol hybrids grew by up to 3.9% in the last month.
The rise in values follows on from a recent news story in which remarketing company Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA) called on leasing companies to “get off the fence” and start embracing EVs to give them more attractive residual values.
Shoreham claims that, at present, leasing businesses are looking for reasons to penalise EV drivers with high contract hire rates, which hurt residual values.
However, the firm says that if leasing companies educated the used market about the benefits of EVs then demand will increase and prices will rise.
To combat the problem, SVA has launched a training scheme aimed at encouraging used-car buyers to purchase EVs at auction. The firm claims the free courses have been oversubscribed and that one dealer reported an eight-fold interest in used EVs a month after attending the briefing.
The sessions cover questions second-hand car buyers are likely to ask, such as those related to charge point compatibility and vehicle running costs.
“Educating used-car traders about the benefits of EVs has given them the confidence to buy them at auction as part of their used car stock mix,” said SVA managing director Alex Wright. “We are already seeing cars like the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe more readily purchased at market values, but the onus is now on the leasing sector to step up to the plate and help educate the used market if it wants to actively help promote the new technology.”
He added: “If the leasing industry does not wake up to the potential of EVs and the fact they are the future, then both new and used EV sales will be adversely affected.”
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