1. Used EV prices are rising with demand
Used cars don’t normally appreciate in value. But that's what is happening in the used EV market right now. Our market signals show that prices are up more than 5% since January, comparing the same models over time.
Recurrent's analysis compared the same make and model year vehicles in January and June. Across 108 make-model-year combinations with adequate sample sizes, prices rose 5.1% on a volume-weighted basis. The gains are concentrated at the affordable end. Vehicles priced under $40,000 in January appreciated, led by a 9.4% gain among vehicles under $20,000, while vehicles above $40,000 stayed flat or continued to decline.
The pattern is also visible in individual models. Among the highest-volume vehicles in the comparison, gains ranged from 10% on a 2023 Tesla Model 3 to nearly 20% on a 2023 Bolt EV:
The trend has continued past the June data window. As of mid-July, the same-model comparison shows prices up 7% since January, with the under-$20,000 segment up nearly 15%.
Cox Automotive's retail data tells the same story: the average used EV listing price hit $35,895 in April, up 4.2% month over month. On a year-over-year basis it was up 0.5% — essentially flat, but the first positive annual reading since July 2025. The monthly increase was broad-based, with 29 brands posting gains, including Tesla (+6.0%), Chevrolet (+7.7%), Hyundai (+4.4%) and Ford (+3.9%).
Manheim's wholesale data confirms it upstream: as of mid-May, the wholesale EV index was up 11.4% year over year and up 3.1% from April alone, leading every other major vehicle segment.
Dealers also experienced it on the ground before it showed up in any index.
"EV values have gone up on the wholesale side of it. I look at that every day. And it's just funny — cause and effect, it always happens."
— Rob Dell, Vice President, Bob Ruth Ford (Dillsburg, PA)
The demand behind those prices is real. Used EV sales hit 93,500 units in Q1 — up 12% year over year and 17% from Q4 — despite the loss of federal EV rebates during that time period. Since Q1, sales have kept climbing: March sales rose 27.7% year over year, and April pushed used EVs to a record 2.8% of the total used market. Used EV days' supply fell to 32 in April, meaning used EVs sold more quickly than used gas vehicles for the second straight month.
"Used EVs haven't dipped at all. It seems like it's kind of just grown since [tax credits ended]."
— Jonmar Teachman, Sales Director, Baxter Volkswagen La Vista (Omaha, NE)
Several forces are pushing the market from different directions, but the net effect is clear:
- Post-rebate EV demand, which cratered in October, is snapping back.
- Gas has stayed expensive: the national average crossed $4.00 a gallon this spring after the conflict with Iran disrupted oil markets, and most analysts expect prices to stay elevated through the year regardless of the resolution timing and result of the conflict (EIA; AAA).
- Off-lease used EV supply is landing on dealer lots in larger numbers as a result of a wave of 2023–2025 EV lease originations that are mostly not being bought out by their original lessors.
We'd caution against pinning the appreciation on gas prices alone. Recurrent has studied 15 years of gas spikes, and most spikes did not move EV sales immediately — the exception was 2022, when gas prices stayed high for six months after Russia invaded Ukraine and EV purchasing surged. What every gas price spike does reliably do, in data going back to the 1970s, is push buyers from new cars to used ones. That migration is almost certainly part of what's happening now. But it's arriving at the same time as the lease-return supply and the demand rebound, and gas prices will continue to be a contributing catalyst.
What's genuinely new this cycle is increased supply. For the first time, there's a deep used EV market for budget-conscious buyers, with as many as 500,000 lease returns projected in 2026 and up to twice as many in 2027, based on Recurrent’s proprietary projection model.
Compare that to 2022 when there were very few pre-owned EVs available to buy. Shoppers had to migrate to new EVs as a way to avoid gas price increases. In 2026, more than half of used EV inventory is under $30,000, and 44% of used EVs sold in March went for under $25,000 (Cox Automotive).
For years, the knock on EVs was depreciation risk: buy one and watch it lose value faster than a comparable gas car. New EVs still do depreciate quickly. But that narrative is not accurate if you’re buying a used EV. Used EVs are holding value, and at the affordable end, gaining it.
2. The most undervalued used EVs
Between 2023 and 2025, Americans leased more than a million EVs. Those leases are ending now: EVs are projected to jump from 2% of all lease returns in 2025 to 8% in 2026.
That’s creating some great deals, but not every used EV delivers the same performance, and it’s hard to compare apples to apples given limited EPA data. A new set of metrics from Recurrent aims to change that, ranking the most undervalued 3-year old EVs based on real-world performance and average prices.
Using all 2023 model-year vehicles to keep comparisons consistent, we ranked the highest-volume used EVs by what you actually get per dollar — using Recurrent's proprietary real-world range data, not EPA window stickers. The difference matters: in our community data, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota EVs routinely deliver more range than their EPA rating, while Teslas typically deliver about 90% of their EPA range at 3 years.
Most undervalued for real-world range (range per dollar):
Most undervalued for fast charging (charging speed per dollar):
One note on the numbers: real-world range varies meaningfully by trim level, so we’re using the most popular trim level for each model year in these rankings.
"Hyundai's done a fantastic job. I can't give them enough credit for the products that they've developed the last couple of years... across the board, they're out-charging Teslas from a charging speed perspective."
— Andrew Wright, Vinart Dealerships (Allentown, PA)
The argument for used Teslas is strong as well: biggest charging network, stable resale values, best in-car technology. But on the metrics that matter to many used EV shoppers, they may not be the best deals. A 2023 Tesla Model 3 is an excellent car at $27,500, compared to a 2023 Toyota Camry, which averages roughly $25,000 used. But a 2023 IONIQ 6 delivers more real-world range and faster charging for $3,000 less, and now charges at Tesla Superchargers too.
The full top-50 rankings across all three categories are available to Recurrent dealer partners.
3. The Hottest Used EVs of 2026
A 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV sells within 12 days. That’s the median length of time it sits on a used car lot right now before selling.
For context, the average used vehicle takes about six weeks to sell.
Here are the fastest-selling 2023 model-year EVs in our data this summer, measured by median days on market for vehicles that sold:
With one exception, the fastest-turning cars are among the most affordable cars, and they're the same cars appreciating fastest. That combination means one thing: demand for affordable used EVs is outrunning supply.
The exception is the F-150 Lightning, and it reinforces a different takeaway.
"We all know Ford discontinued the Lightning truck. They probably wish they hadn't, given the circumstances the world economy is in right now. They're in high demand."
— John Iannone, Electric Car Corner (Farmington, NY)
For Dealers: From our hundreds of discussions with dealership teams, they typically avoided used EVs for two reasons: price volatility and uncertain demand. Both have flipped this year. Prices are up 5.1% since January, and the fastest-turning models are selling in under two weeks. The bigger risk in mid-2026 is watching that demand walk to the dealer down the road who stocked the inventory you passed on.
About this data
Some data in Recurrent's quarterly reports comes from Marketcheck, which aggregates listings from tens of thousands of dealership websites. Marketcheck is a large, representative sample of the franchise and independent dealer market, but it does not capture private-party sales. Real-world range, charging and efficiency figures come from Recurrent's community of EV owners. Sales, days' supply and wholesale index figures are credited to Cox Automotive and Manheim where noted. Same-model price comparisons are based on 108 make-model-year combinations with at least 20 listings, volume-weighted, battery electric vehicles only.
