7:52 am, January 3, 2023
Used car prices in the trade dropped by 1.5 per cent in December – and values of second-hand electric cars continued to slide.
Cap HPI data shown to Car Dealer reveals December was the third biggest drop in prices in 2022 after March and April, which both dropped by 2.1 per cent.
It means the average three-year old used car with 60,000 miles on the clock dropped in value by around £300.
The valuations experts said the movement from December into January was in ‘in line’ with the five-year average, showing ‘the overall strength of the market despite the economic turmoil the country has faced this year’.
Burrowing into the data further reveals on average one-year-old cars dropped by 1.7 per cent, or circa £590 – the largest drop all year for this sector.
Five-year and 10-year old cars dropped the least – 1.4 and 0.8 per cent respectively.
MPVs were the strongest sector, with average values dropping by just 0.7 per cent, or £120 at three years.
Petrol and diesel cars fell by 1.5 (c.£300) and 1.3 (c.£240) per cent respectively, but prices of electric cars continued to slide.
Cap HPI called battery electric vehicles ‘the most challenging area of the used car market’ in December.
December saw EV values drop for the fourth month in succession.
At the three-year point, EVs were down by 5.2 per cent, or c.£1,625 – a new record.
When the past four months are added together, values have fallen by 10.4 per cent or c.£3,500.
Tesla Model 3s saw one of the largest downward movements, dropping by 9.6 per cent or by around £3,000. The Model Y, meanwhile, fell by nearly six per cent.
Other premium EVs have slashed in value too – the Audi Q4 e-Tron fell by 5.9 per cent, Mercedes-Benz EQC by 10.6 per cent and Jaguar I-Pace by 8.7 per cent.
Prices of mainstream EVs also fell – the Renault Zoe dropped by 6.9 per cent, for example, while prices of the Nissan Leaf reduced by nine per cent.
Cap HPI said these values were often due to used examples being sold at higher prices compared to new models, so it was expected, but it was happening ‘quicker than anticipated’.
The company said due to prices falling, EVs could be on consumers’ consideration lists in early 2023, but it would ‘be interesting’ to see the effects of rising energy prices and better EV new car supply later in the year.
Looking ahead to January 2023, Cap HPI said the month could be similar to December, based on lower supply rather than increased demand.
Dealers are expected to buy ‘little and often’ rather than buy large amounts of stock in January.
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