Used EV sales take off as prices plummet in US

Electric vehicles on the used market often cost less than comparable petrol models, making the technology affordable to many more buyers, writes Jack Ewing from New York

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New electric vehicles cost thousands more than similar models that run on petrol. But a growing number of shoppers are discovering that for used cars, often the opposite is true.

Used battery-powered vehicles often sell for less than comparable cars with internal combustion engines, making them a good deal even before calculating savings in maintenance costs and fuel. That is expanding the number of people who can afford to buy such models.

Sales of used electric vehicles rose 40% in July from a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive, a research firm.

K. Boyle, an 80-year-old widow who lives in San Francisco, recently bought a used Nissan Leaf she found on Craigslist for just $1,000 (about 31,600 baht) after factoring in a rebate from her electric utility.

The model, from 2013, is not designed for long trips, but its battery still has enough range to cover Ms Boyle's grocery shopping and visits to her daughter across town, she said.

"I was nervous at first," said Ms Boyle, a retired junior high school teacher who likened the car's instant acceleration to something you might drive at Disneyland. "You just press it, and it goes."

But now, she said, "I love this little car."

Electric vehicles have lost value quickly partly because rapidly advancing battery technology has made older models less attractive. A few years ago, most electric vehicles couldn't travel more than 200 miles on a charge. Now cars that can go 300 miles are common, and within a few years 400 miles will be the norm.

Prices of new electric models have also come down, with many selling for less than $40,000. That automatically pushes down prices of preowned cars.

Used electric vehicles still make up just a sliver of the used-car market - about 2% in July, according to Cox. Until a few years ago there weren't many new electric vehicles to choose from, and very few were available used.