Used BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and ICE cars started to reach price parity in Q1 2024, fuelling buyer demand.

A new white paper from Indicata reveals signs that used BEV prices have stabilised, following a crash of over 30% in 2023; the result of OEM discounting of new models combined with a wave of used versions in the market.

Latest data from Indicata indicates that used BEV prices fell by just 1.3% across the three-month period, helping close the gap between BEV and ICE prices.

This price parity spells good news for BEVs and the used car industry, and comes at a time when more BEVs are reaching the used market, particularly from fleets.

“Price parity is vital for BEVs in the used market as consumers are now being offered all the latest fuel types at similar prices, where before used BEVs were commanding a 25-30% price premium which put buyers off going electric,” explained Dean Merritt, Indicata UK’s head of sales.

“Price parity is fuelling demand just as the volumes of used BEVs, particularly ex-fleet cars, are increasing which is good news for the entire industry. In some cases, used BEVs are now cheaper than their equivalent ICE models,” he added.

These cheaper prices are revealed in the new ‘Reaching used BEV and ICE car price parity’ white paper, which tracks used prices of five popular BEVs from Citroën, MG, Vauxhall, Peugeot and Hyundai against their equivalent ICE models during 2023 and 2024 on a two-year and 20,000-mile basis.

Models analysed include the Peugeot e-208 BEV compared to the 208 petrol – these reached price parity in June 2023 at which point BEVs became worth more than equivalent petrol models. That’s how it stayed until both fuel types reached price parity again in March 2024 at £14,250.

Indicata also looked at the Vauxhall Corsa Electric versus the diesel at two years and 20,000 miles. From January 2023, the Corsa BEV was worth more than the equivalent diesel model by around £7,000. As of March 2024, the diesel Corsa was worth £16,000 and the Corsa BEV £15,250, which reflects how far market prices have moved on certain models in a brief time period.

The MG ZS EV also came under Indicata’s scrutiny compared to its petrol counterpart. Electric ZS prices have been consistently ahead of used ZS petrol prices by around £1,250 since June 2023. This trend has continued into 2024 with the ZS BEV worth £15,000 compared with £13,750 for the petrol model.

In the case of the Citroën ë-C4, this reached price parity with its diesel equivalent in May 2023 at £17,400 but prices continued to fall. As of March 2024, BEVs were worth £14,200 against £16,200 for the diesel.

Finally, Hyundai’s strong zero-emission reputation meant drivers paid more for used Kona BEVs during 2023. That trend continued into 2024, with Kona BEVs worth £19,700, £4,700 more than the equivalent petrol model.

“Some brands have already built up a strong BEV reputation and drivers are prepared to pay for them than ICE cars, but generally our data shows prices have moved much closer together. In the case of Peugeot 208 BEV and petrol models, prices were identical at the end of March 2024 while there was just a few hundred pounds difference between the Corsa BEV and diesel models at the same age and mileage,” said Merritt.

BEV and ICE parity spotlighted at VRA meeting

Indicata also spotlighted the subject of battery electric vehicle and ICE parity at March’s meeting of the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA).

Andy Shields, global business unit director of Indicata, reinforced that the stability of BEV values seemed to be related to the manufacturer’s reputation for EVs.

“If it is good, they stabilise slightly above the ICE equivalent, if they have less of a track record, it stabilises slightly below,” he continued.

“However, the key point seems to be that once prices of EV and ICE versions of a model are roughly the same, buyers start to support the electric version in sufficient numbers that the curve flattens out.

“Of course, whether this is a long-term effect remains to be seen but it appears to be holding true at this moment in time.”

Other speakers at the VRA event reported that demand for EVs had stabilised and was even increasing.

Stuart Chamberlain, head of B2B and partnerships at Arval UK, said: “This year, it seems that we have seen much more of a market for EVs start to develop which, with the numbers that are going to start appearing on the used market increasing, is a very timely development.”

He sat as part of a discussion panel looking at emerging fleet remarketing trends that also included David Watkins, commercial director of Greenhous Fleet Services, and Vicky Malcolm, relationship manager at Motability Operations.

The subject was also tackled by Mark Davis, key account manager and Craig Auden, product owner of Epyx, who detailed the trends that were being seen through their 1link Disposal Network fleet remarketing platform.

Davis said: “Probably the most interesting development of the last year or so has been something that we are calling multi-channel remarketing, where major fleets are increasingly looking to sell the same vehicle simultaneously through a number of channels, both trade and retail, with prices adjusted accordingly. It offers the best chance of maximising values following recent market readjustments.”