Sharp drop in prices of second-hand electric cars in France
Some models are down 20% in comparison to last year
Price drops have been partly driven by smaller and cheaper second-hand city cars, which are worth around €4,600 less than last year, on average
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Prices for second-hand electric cars have dropped by almost 20% this year compared to last, car dealers are reporting, with some models available for up to 50% less.
Some of the suggested reasons for this include:
Electric vehicles are becoming much more common
The range of electric vehicles on offer today is larger and more varied than in previous years
Increased competition, particularly from in-demand brands such as Tesla, which have lowered the price of their cars, forcing other manufacturers to do the same
Cheaper city cars are causing price drops on the second-hand market (and are worth around €4,600 less than last year, on average)
Electric vehicle technology is evolving and changing rapidly, causing older models to become outdated very quickly.
“One, two, or three years ago, we hardly ever saw electric vehicles,” said Maïron Felix at JPA Autos, a car dealership in Pontault-Combault, Seine-et-Marne (Ile-de-France) to TF1. “Today, there are many more vehicles starting to be offered as used electric cars.”
The dealership said that the prices for its used electric cars had fallen by 17.4% on average compared with the past 12 months. Some models, such as one of the garage’s Fiat 500s, are priced at almost 50% less (at €17,477).
“This is almost half the price for a car that's only a few years old and has very few kilometres on the clock, so it's an excellent deal,” said Alexandre Pires, manager of the JPA Autos.
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Nationwide drop
A car market specialist confirmed that these price drops are being seen nationwide.
“Electric technologies are evolving very, very quickly,” said Anaïs Harmant, marketing director of the La Centrale group, in an interview with TF1. “Every time a new generation arrives, the price of the previous generation depreciates.”
Yet, buyers at the Seine-et-Marne dealership still had mixed views. One said that “a small electric car is more of an interesting proposition nowadays”, and that “if it’s cheaper, then why not?”.
However, another said: “It is still expensive…these prices are still excessive [compared to the cost of combustion vehicles].”
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The price drop comes as the ‘bonus écologique’ (financial aid from the French government to help people buy a new electric car) dropped by €1,000 from January 1 this year.
The total amount available through this particular bonus is now capped at €3,000, down from €4,000 for households in the highest five income brackets; and €6,000 for eligible households in the lower brackets.
