If your current car is on the way out and you think an electric replacement is too expensive, think again. Three-year-old Tesla Model 3s and Kia e-Niros that will do 250-300 miles on a single charge can now be bought for as little as £14,000. In the last year, forecourt prices for used electric cars have tumbled to the extent that previously unaffordable models are now within the reach of many families for the first time.
Values have fallen so much that two weeks ago Auto Trader said they had reached near-parity with petrol cars. The average price of a three- to five-year-old EV in July was £18,964, compared with £18,076 for petrol models of the same age, it said. Three or four years ago, some gamechanging, super-efficient models were being snapped up new by buyers in large numbers.
They typically cost £40,000-£50,000 new, but three years on these vehicles are now appearing on the used car market with 60,000-75,000 miles on the clock, at much more affordable prices. “There are some spectacular bargains out there,” says David Smith of Cheltenham-based Cleevely Electric Vehicles, one of the UK’s highest regarded independent sellers and servicers of EVs. “Cars that have proved reliable, with batteries offering close to the range that they had when new – many with several years’ warranty left – can be bought for a fraction of their new price.
” Asked which electric car he would recommend to a family for under £15,000, he’s unequivocal in his recommendation .