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Used EV price falls have levelled out – but now diesel values are plummeting

  • EVs did not dominate list of biggest depreciating used cars in August
  • It’s the first time electric cars haven’t lead the way in dropping the most in value
  • Full list of month’s biggest risers and fallers revealed below

Time 7:19 am, August 27, 2023

For the first time this year, EVs haven’t dominated a monthly list of cars that have dropped the most in value.

Data shown exclusively to Car Dealer, by trade values experts Cap HPI, revealed the cars that have lost the most amount of money in August – and only one electric car was on the list.

That’s in sharp contrast to every other month in 2023, where EVs have been the second-hand cars that have depreciated the most.


In August, the 2015-2019 SsangYong Tivoli SUV topped the list with prices falling on average by 14.5 per cent, or £1,354.

Five of the top 10 biggest fallers were diesels, while the list also included two petrol-powered sports cars.

The only EV to appear in the chart was the 2016-2020 Smart ForTwo electric, which saw an average price drop of 8.8 per cent in August, equivalent to £808.


The values collated by Cap HPI are taken at the three-year, 30,000-mile mark, and are averages.

The full list is revealed below, along with the month’s biggest risers.

August stood out from the rest of the year as EVs have topped similar tables for all other months.

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In March 2023 nine of the top 10 biggest depreciating used cars were pure-electrics.

In June, with Cap HPI data, Car Dealer revealed 29 of the top 30 most depreciating used cars since the beginning of the 2023 were EVs. Pure-electrics fell on average by 33.6 per cent, while petrols dropped by just 0.5 per cent.

The latest data from Cap HPI comes as figures published by Auto Trader this week (Aug 22) showed retail prices of electric cars are showing signs of stabilising.

Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index revealed that in the month to August 20, used electric car prices dropped by just 0.3 per cent month-on-month – the lowest level of monthly contraction since July 2022.

Overall in August, meanwhile, used cars dropped by two per cent in value.

It was the worst August for 13 years, and was due to sluggish consumer demand and better supply levels of second-hand cars.


Values of used EVs dropped by 1.7 per cent, but this was overshadowed by prices of petrols and diesels which plummeted by 2.1 per cent.

Cap HPI’s director of valuations, Derren Martin, told Car Dealer: ‘There are some real EV bargains at the moment – some are cheaper than the ICE equivalents.

‘But then there are others where there’s some more volume coming back and they look a bit expensive. Those are the ones that are coming down.’

The full interview with Martin, where he discusses the August used car market, can be watched by clicking the video at the top of this story.

Biggest August used car fallers

Source: August drops compared to July, Cap HPI

  1. SsangYong Tivoli (’15-’19) -14.5% (-£1,354)
  2. Toyota GT 86 (’12-’21) -12.2% (-£2,471)
  3. Renault Clio (’13-’20) diesel -9.2% (-£771)
  4. Smart Fortwo (’16-’20) electric -8.8% (-£808)
  5. Nissan Micra (’16-’20) diesel -6.9% (£718)
  6. Smart ForTwo Cabriolet (’15-’19) -6.9% (-£763)
  7. Jaguar F-Pace (’20-) diesel -6.9% (£2,488)
  8. Jaguar F-Type Convertible (’13-’20) -6.8% (-£2,906)
  9. Land Rover Discovery Sport (’19-) diesel -6.8% (-£2,011)
  10. BMW 4 Series Convertible (’13-’20) diesel -6.8% (-£1,531)

Biggest August used car risers

Source: August rises compared to July, Cap HPI

  1. BMW i8 (’14-’20) +5.0% (+£2,300)
  2. Mercedes-Benz V-Class (’19-) diesel +4.9% (+£2,705)
  3. Mazda 2 (’14-’20) +4.1% (+£445)
  4. Volkswagen Caravelle (’10-’20) diesel +4.0 (+£1,475)
  5. Mercedes-Benz S-Class (’13-’21) petrol +3.0 (+£1,553)
  6. Mercedes-Benz S-Class (’13-’21) diesel +3.0 (+£1,283)
  7. Volkswagen ID.3 (’20-) +3.0 (+£4,554)
  8. Mitsubishi Shogun Sport (’17-’21) +2.1% (+£475)
  9. Lotus Evora (’09-’22) +2.1% (+£1,150)
  10. Mercedes-Benz V-Class Marco Polo (’17-’19) diesel +2.1 (+£987)
James Batchelor's avatar

James – or Batch as he’s known – started at Car Dealer in 2010, first as the work experience boy, eventually becoming editor in 2013. He worked for Auto Express as editor-at-large from 2014 and was the face of Carbuyer’s YouTube reviews. In 2020, he went freelance and now writes for a number of national titles and contributes regularly to Car Dealer. In October 2021 he became Car Dealer's associate editor.



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