The shortage of new sub-£25,000 electric cars gave the used EV sector a welcome boost in Q4, according to Aston Barclay.

Used EVs were the only fuel type to experience a price rise in Q4

For the last three months of 2023, used EVs rose in price by 6.4% (£1,309) to £21,707 after five consecutive quarterly price falls. Used EVs were also the only fuel type to experience a price rise in Q4 as demand from buyers for cheaper EV turned to the used market due to restricted new car supplies in this price bracket.

Aston Barclay’s chief customer officer Nick Thompson said it was much-welcome news for vendors.

“Many leasing companies are seeing a growing number of used EVs coming back from fleet customers. The restricted number of new budget EVs on sale is helping create demand for used cars which will build confidence among dealers looking to stock EVs on their forecourts, many for the first time” he said.

“It will also be interesting to see how used hybrids fare in a market which is predominantly focused on EVs, while diesel demand carries on unaffected by the evolution of the used market.”

Diesel prices fell by 5.9% from Q3, going from £7,680 to £7,226 as mileages reached record levels of 87,902.

Meanwhile, petrol prices fell by 13.4% (£1,100) in Q4 to £7,097, with average age mirroring that of diesel at 100 months.

The price gap between used diesels and petrols is now closer than Aston Barclay has previously experienced in the report.

“There is just a £129 difference between a 100-month-old petrol and diesel used car, albeit that your average used diesel will have covered 30,000 more miles. Overall prices in Q4 saw a major realignment caused by used value guides moving as well as a fall in wholesale demand as dealers managed regular price falls,” said Thompson.

“The market has settled down again in Q1 2024, but there could be further price realignment as used cars return more closely back to where they were prior to the 2020 Covid pandemic,” he added.