Demand for used EVs rising

Electric vehicles are on the verge of overtaking diesel as the second most popular choice in the used car market.

According to figures from BuyaCar, EVs registered in 2020 have been representing up to 27% of all one-year-old car sales in recent weeks. It says this is one of the strongest signs yet that full battery-powered cars have crossed the tipping point into becoming a mainstream motoring choice.

Meanwhile, the rapid slowdown in diesel sales continues – especially among cars in the one-to-three year old bracket – where less than one in four buyers are searching for or buying a diesel.

Interest in used EVs has grown fast over the past 12 months, with 14% of visitors to the site initially searching for electric cars during November compared to just eight per cent during November 2020.

Christofer Lloyd, editor, said: “Consumer acceptance of EVs is certainly picking up pace and there is no better sign of that than how EVs are performing as used cars. Only a few years ago there were concerns about whether older batteries would hold their charge sufficiently well to make EVs a confident choice in the used market, but we are regularly delivering electric cars up to six years old.

“Another common assumption was that EVs were destined to be typically a second household vehicle, used mainly as a runabout for local trips and this may be borne out during these early days. Our most popular EV is the Nissan Leaf and other firm favourites are the Renault Zoe and the SmartForFour. However, a number of our customers are replacing their main car with an EV and happily spending up to £40,000 to go electric.”