Is now a good time to buy a used electric car? Used car lists Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq analyzed

The original Nissan Leaf was a groundbreaking electric vehicle and offers the best price on the used car market.

The price of a new battery electric vehicle is still out of reach for many Australians.

Most of the electric vehicles currently available in Australia are made by premium brands and cost north of $100,000.

There are a growing number of models priced under $80,000, and even a few models are under $50,000, but it's hard to name any of them affordable.

With the decrease in the cost of batteries and other mechanisms associated with electric vehicles, the price of electric vehicles is also decreasing. New brands, mostly from China, will also help bring down the price of the electric model, but some of them will appear in a couple of years.

State and territory governments, including New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and ACT, have committed to converting part of their fleet to electric vehicles by 2030 or sooner. This will create a larger pool of EVs in the used car market as governments regularly upgrade their fleets.

If buying a new electric car isn't an option, isn't it time to buy a used electric car? We have studied the ads of dealers and individuals about used cars on Cars Guide и Gumtree to see if there are any electrical deals on the market.

There are several used examples of Hyundai Ioniq Electric on the Internet.

Small electric sunroofs and SUVs

It's fair to say that electric vehicles, for the most part, retain their value. It is difficult to find a used model with a price that is significantly less than its price in new condition.

But the electric models that are the most affordable on the used market are small hatchbacks, liftbacks and SUVs from non-premium brands.

One of the cheapest electric vehicles we found was a tiny 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV city hatchback. The NSW-based seller says it gets 67km of range on a single charge - significantly less than about 150km when new - and costs just over $10,000.

Mitsubishi has sold very few i-MiEVs in Australia, so you won't find too many in the used car market. The lack of interior space and low range mean it was a niche car.

Nissan entered the EV market early with its groundbreaking Leaf in 2012, and there are plenty of examples of both first and second generation models online. The vast majority are the current model, which arrived in 2019, and a large number are dealer demos.

First generation copies (2012-2017) range from $16,000 to $30,000 depending on model year and mileage, but the average price is just over $20,000. Some of them were imported directly from Japan by local importers and not by the manufacturer.

A 2015 example from ACT with just over 50,000 miles on the odometer will set you back $22,910. The new Leaf cost 47,000 XNUMX dollars.

Examples of the current-gen 2018 Leaf cost around the $30,000 high or the 40,000 low of $2019, while the 49,000 Leaf averages around $49,990. The current price for the new Leaf is $US 60,490 385 for the regular version and $ XNUMX XNUMX for the Leaf e+, which extends the range to XNUMX km.

Hyundai launched its first electric car, the Ioniq small hatchback, in 2018 as part of a three-pronged green car strategy: The Ioniq is available as a stock hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle. Not to be confused with the flamboyant Ioniq 5 SUV that arrived in 2021, the older Ioniq received a facelift in late 2019.

The BMW i3 is one of the most affordable premium electric vehicles.

Aside from the many dealer demos asking for the current new price of $49,970 for the Ioniq Electric Elite and 54,010 $2019 for the Premium, there is a small handful of 11,000 models with mileage ranging from 35,000 km to $40,000 with an average price of $XNUMX. This is about the same as the new higher-end Toyota Camry Hybrid.

If you prefer an SUV body, Hyundai's other electric vehicle, the Kona Electric, is available in very small numbers online. It seems to hold its value better than the Ioniq, with sellers asking an average of $52,000 for the Elite 2019 and about $60,000 for the Highlander. In 59,990, they were priced at $64,490K and $2019XNUMX, respectively.

There are more examples of Ioniq in the used car market as it has been on the market a little longer and is more fleet-focused than Kona Electric.

Another small electric car that you will find in the used car market, albeit in very small numbers, is the Renault Zoe. In fact, in our searches, we found only one used Zoya - a 2018 model with 50,000 km and a 35,000 price of $2018. The brand new Zoe 49,490 cost $XNUMXXNUMX.

It may be a premium brand, but the quirky and eye-catching BMW i3 can be found for just under $50,000 with just under 50,000 km on it. At that time, a new i3 cost you $71,900XNUMX.

Models like the MG ZS EV, Mazda MX-30, Kia Niro, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are just too new to appear on used car listings with decent mileage and discounted prices. However, some dealer demos with several thousand miles are available for a couple of thousand less than the new price. Bargain!

The Tesla Model 3 is just starting to show up on used car listings.

Tesla factor

Tesla has been in Australia since late 2014, so there are quite a few examples of the flagship Model S in the used car market.

The 2014 and 2015 examples have an average low-end price of $80,000, about $30,000-$40,000 less than the price of their new car. They range from 70,000, 95,000 to XNUMX, XNUMX km per odo.

There are far fewer examples of the Model X SUV on the web. One 2018 Model X with 27,000 km is on sale for $120,000, which is $20,000 less than the new price of $75.

Considering its status as the most affordable Tesla, there are quite a few used examples of the Model 3 small sedan. They seem to hold their value: a pair of flagship 2019 and 2020 Performance variants cost around $92,000, just a few thousand dollars less than the new price of about 95,000 XNUMX dollars.

When the Standard Range Plus was new in 2020, it retailed for $67,000, and a couple of examples online released in 2020 and 2021 cost about the same.

The Jaguar I-Pace has been on the market longer than many of its premium competitors.

Premium brands

Because it has been on the market longer, there are more Jaguar I-Paces available in the used car market than its European competitors. All examples are six figures, but some from 2018 and 2019 have a new car price reduced by $20,000-$35,000.

All other copies of the Audi e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQA and EQC are dealer demo versions, the price of which is practically not reduced.

The price of used electric vehicles will inevitably come down as there are more models to choose from and more vehicles for sale. But for now, the best value when it comes to used electric vehicles is non-premium offerings like the Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Ioniq Electric.