Used EV values are rising while the rest of the market falls, and 300 miles is the number

The used car market fell this year, with one exception. Autorola's third-quarter data shows used electric vehicle values up 14.1%, or £2,197, from £15,486 in the first quarter to £17,683 in the third, at an average of 37 months and 23,259 miles. Overall used car prices fell 3.5%, £603, from £16,778 to £16,175 over the same period. EVs were the only powertrain to buck the trend.

The reason is partly the fuel price. Neil Frost, managing director of Autorola UK, says high petrol and diesel prices have certainly helped boost EV demand, but he puts more weight on confidence. "It's positive to see that EV demand has risen for a third successive quarter and prices are continuing to rise," he says. "High ICE fuel prices have certainly helped boost EV demand but generally there is more confidence in the sector now that the number of electric cars on UK roads continues to increase."

The market is getting older

There is a detail in the same data that matters more than the headline. The average age of the cars Autorola sold rose from 37 months and 25,314 miles in the first quarter to 43 months and 26,700 miles in the third. Petrol cars aged the most, by seven months, while hybrids and EVs each aged to 37 months, with EVs up five months.

Fleets are extending their replacement cycles and consumers are holding onto their cars for longer, which is feeding older part-exchanges into the trade. Frost says a large number of those higher-mileage vehicles were washed through the system during the September plate change, and he believes there are plenty more to come. For used EV buyers, that means more three-and-four-year-old cars arriving, which is exactly the stock that has been scarce.

300 miles is the number

The second dataset, Startline's October Used Car Tracker, explains what buyers want from those cars. More than a third of dealers, 38%, say 300 miles is the range most buyers want from a used EV. Almost a quarter, 23%, believe motorists prefer 400 miles, and only 17% think buyers are happy with less than 200. Just 3% of drivers will accept 100 miles, another 3% want more than 500, and around 15% simply want the longest range possible.

Paul Burgess, chief executive of Startline Motor Finance, says the pattern is coherent. "Our research shows 300 miles is very much the sweet spot of the market but also that almost all demand fits into a band of 200-400 miles of range," he says. "There is very limited interest in cars that will travel less or more on a single charge." He points out that drivers tend to think about range in terms of their longest journeys, and 200 to 400 miles covers that before a public charge is needed.

That is a more sensible picture than the range anxiety narrative suggests. The cars people are actually shopping for, models like the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, the BMW i4 and the Volkswagen ID 3, can all manage more than 300 miles on a charge depending on trim and battery. The demand is clustered where the supply already sits.

Charging speed is catching up

The tracker also found that 65% of dealers believe buyers are becoming more interested in charging speeds than outright range, and 55% say drivers are now better informed about their range needs. Half say most electric cars now have adequate range for most buyers, and 42% believe there is a customer for every mileage band, though 37% report that shorter-range models can be tough to sell.

Burgess says dealers feel their customers are developing a more sophisticated understanding of charging, especially that a faster charging speed can matter more than outright range. As electric cars become more common, he expects that attitude to spread.

Why the demand is rising

The wider market is doing some of the work. The AA reported that searches for electric-only vehicles in September were up 37% on August and 49.6% higher year on year, as petrol and diesel prices rose, with diesel reaching up to £2.00 a litre. Cheaper running costs are a stronger argument when the alternative is expensive.

The used EV market has spent two years being told it is in trouble. The Q3 data suggests the opposite is happening at the value end: demand has risen for a third successive quarter, values are up 14.1% since the start of the year, the cars coming to market are older and more affordable, and buyers are looking for a range band the current stock already covers. We looked at the demand surge earlier this month, and this data fills in the supply side of it.

What it means for a buyer

For anyone shopping for a used EV, the useful lesson is that 300 miles is a reasonable target rather than a minimum, and that charging speed deserves as much attention as the range figure. A car that charges quickly and covers 250 miles is a better proposition for most drivers than one that claims 400 and crawls at a rapid charger. Our guide to buying a used EV sets out the checks that matter, from battery health to charging history.

The values story also cuts both ways. Rising prices are good news for owners and for the trade, and less good for buyers who were waiting for the bottom. The window when used EVs looked cheap against petrol and diesel is narrowing, and the Q3 numbers suggest it has already started to close.