It's common knowledge that a car starts losing value the moment its tires leave the dealership's lot. This is especially true for electric vehicles, which have seen significant depreciation in recent years due to factors such as tax incentives, price wars, rapid technological advancements, and concerns over battery longevity.
However, it's surprising to see that used EVs have actually been gaining value lately. According to a new report from Recurrent, which evaluates vehicle battery health and tracks the used EV market, secondhand EV prices are up 5.1% since January. Vehicles under $20,000 have seen the biggest increase, up 9.4% from January through June.
View Price on AmazonThis trend is both good and bad news, depending on where you stand in the market. If you own a Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3, it's probably nice to see that values aren't just stabilizing, but increasing. However, if you're someone who doesn't own an EV but has been considering it, it's an unfortunate turn of events.
For example, the 2023 Chevy Bolt EV costs $21,204 on average, according to Recurrent, a nearly 20% increase from what it cost at the beginning of the year: $17,718. The 2022 Tesla Model 3 is about $3,000 pricier, now costing close to $27,000. The 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E is up about $4,000, now knocking on the door of $35,000.
So, what's driving this trend? In part, people may be realizing that used EVs can be an incredible deal. The supply and sales of used EVs have been rising thanks to all the EV leasing that happened over the last few years. And yet, prices are going up and days supply is about in line with used gas cars. Over 128,000 used EVs were sold in Q2, eclipsing the results in Q3 of 2025, when the tax-credit frenzy was still in full effect.
As the supply has ballooned, gas prices have increased. While they aren't as high as they were earlier in the spring, they're still above $4 per gallon. This could be enough to get people—especially budget-conscious buyers who might look at a sub-$20,000 EV—to make the switch. Moreover, Recurrent says that those gas prices are likely pushing people into the used market at large, which is boosting EV demand too.
Source: insideevs.com
