Used electric cars are now cheaper than petrol and diesel vehicles, according to the experts at HPI, with prices on forecourts around 8.5% cheaper for a three-year-old model and rising to 14% at four years old. 

New EVs are commonly more expensive than the closest petrol and diesel equivalents, however, used electric car values have fallen sharply in the past two years, potentially providing motorists with a bargain. 

On average, values of used EVs for cars at the same age and mileage point have halved in value since September 2022 when there was huge demand because of the pandemic and parts shortages. 

For models such as the Jaguar i-Pace, Mercedes EQC and Tesla Model X, this can equate to well over £20,000 less than in the summer of 2022, and for cars like the Porsche Taycan, up to £40,000 less, making previously unobtainable cars a real option for more consumers, say HPI. 

In May 2024, 17.6% of all new car registrations were electric cars, with 26,031 new electric cars registered. Sales of used electric cars were 71% higher in the first quarter of 2024 than in the same period last year, and sales of used hybrids are also increasing significantly. More than 41,500 pure electric cars were sold on the used market in the first quarter of this year alone, according to official figures. 

Ginny Buckley, Electrifying.com’s founder and editor-in-chief, said: “Most new electric cars are sold to company fleets and after three years these are fed back into the market. As there are not tax incentives for private used car buyers there is currently not such a large appetite for electric cars and the price has to fall to a level where they become irresistible. That means there are some real bargains out there.”