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Ostfildern (dpa) - The boom in new electric cars, driven by high premiums, is causing the value of used electric vehicles to plummet.
The residual values of three-year-old electric vehicles are currently around a tenth lower than they were for comparable cars a year ago.
In addition, electric cars are currently losing value much faster than gasoline or diesel vehicles, as an evaluation by Deutsche Automobil Treuhand (DAT) shows.
"The used car market for battery-electric
cars is having a hard time," says the head of DAT vehicle evaluation, Martin Weiss.
“The price difference between a new and a used electric car is often too small to make it attractive for the buyer to buy the used car.
On the one hand, the promotion of new cars depresses the price, on the other hand, the technology is still developing rapidly.
"Every used car seller quickly runs out of arguments."
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In February 2020, the residual value of a typical three-year-old electric car was roughly the same as that of a gasoline-powered car at a good 56 percent of the list price.
But while this number has remained more or less constant for gasoline-powered vehicles, it has now dropped to less than 51 percent for electric cars.
And this is only half the story, says Weiss: "If you only look at the smaller segments, their depreciation is much more dramatic."
While the lower prices should please prospective buyers, they are problematic for owners of electric cars if they want to sell them.
The drop in prices for used vehicles could also affect the leasing rates for vehicles of this type in the medium term and make them more expensive.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210324-99-947141 / 2