1. Used Electric Cars Are Gaining on Gas Cars

Something unique is happening with the used EV market. More vehicles are available, and they are selling more quickly, all while prices remain fairly constant. 

Turns out, there’s a lot of demand for reliable, affordable EVs.

Since February, used EV inventory has been up 50% year over year. Despite this increased inventory, prices have remained largely stable and the Recurrent Price Index has inched up nearly 2 percentage points since March. At the same time, days supply of used EVs declined in April and May, reaching the lowest level since June 2022 – the peak of covid-related EV inflation. 

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While some of the demand can be attributed to customers eager to make purchases before tariff-related inflation and the end of the federal EV tax credits, several other causes are likely. 

1. Selection has matured. There are 70 PHEV and BEV models available today, with prices ranging from under $10K for a Ford C-MAX or Nissan LEAF, to over $90K for barely driven BMW XMs and Lucid Airs. 
2. Options are newer. While used gas cars shift towards older stock, 72% of used EV listings are from the past five years, and 45% are from 2023 or later. These are long range, modern EVs with great technology and many years left on their battery warranties. 
3. Affordability for budget shoppers. Someone on a budget can stretch their dollar farther in the used EV market as compared with a used gas car. 34% of inventory is priced under $25K, and 55% is under $30K. For comparison, in the gas car market, nearly half of all used cars were $20K or less in 2019. Today, only 11% are.  

2. Used Tesla Inventory Is Scaling With the Market, Not Flooding It

Another surprising story of supply and demand is what happened with Tesla’s supply surge in Q2. Headlines in March and April warned of plummeting used Tesla prices as people flocked to trade in or sell their Teslas. 

And that did happen - briefly. In those months, drivers sold off or traded in a record number of Teslas, and media outlets seized on the moment, reporting that the cars were losing value at three times the pace of the rest of the used car market.

But for Tesla cars (not including the Cybertruck), the crash never came. Despite a modest 2% dip in April, when inventory peaked, used Tesla prices have largely kept pace with the overall used EV market. More importantly, inventory didn’t sit idle. In fact, April saw a 27% increase in sales volume month over month. By May, used Tesla market share rose to nearly 50%, and days supply fell to just 28 days — the lowest in the industry.

So what’s really happening?

What many headlines missed is that while raw Tesla inventory is up, their share of the total used EV market has stayed relatively stable. And that makes sense, because this flood is really a natural result of Tesla’s past success.

To understand today’s used market, you have to look 3–5 years back. From 2019 to 2021, Tesla dominated new EV sales in the U.S., accounting for more than half of all EVs sold each year. Those vehicles are now aging into the secondary market — and entering a used EV space that’s finally mature enough to absorb them.

Moreover, the Tesla brand carries a lot of weight as a long range and reliable car. The Supercharger network has name recognition and everyone knows someone who loves their Model Y or Model 3. If you walk into a dealership with $20K, you can no longer afford a 3 year old Toyota RAV4, Subaru Outback, or a Honda CR-V. But you can get a new Model 3 - and that’s a bargain. 

This isn’t a collapse in value or of the Tesla brand. It’s a sign of maturation. As the used EV market expands, Tesla’s role in it is simply catching up to its earlier dominance. Prices are holding. Sales are moving. And Teslas are leading the way in a growing segment of affordable, long-range used EVs.

3. Rebate-eligible used EVs selling 6X faster at comparable price points 

Demand is up for used EVs — but tax incentives are supercharging sales speed. 

New analysis from Recurrent using Edmunds data shows that over 2024 and 2025, rebate-eligible used EVs sold six times faster than comparably priced and comparably aged non-eligible used EVs. 

Dealers in Florida and Utah confirmed the impact that rebates have on turn time for affordable used EVs:

“The non-qualifying customers from an income perspective get frustrated when they see that a $20K Tesla will cost someone else only $16K -- they don’t want to pay $20K when there’s a rebate that could apply but doesn’t. A lot of the time, they end up in a $26K unit instead -- they are getting a lot more car at that price point since it’s not being bid up on the wholesale side.” – Gary Pretzfeld, AutoTrust USA

Similarly, Alex Lawrence of EV Auto explains that “

the death zone for an EV right now is $24K if you don't qualify -- instead you spend $3K more and get something a few models later”

With the used EV rebate going away in Q4, the industry will have to adapt - especially as a wave of 350,000 off lease EVs hit the market in 2026. Having studied the market and the effects of federal incentives, Recurrent has the following merchandising recommendations:

• Don’t sweat the politics: The big Tesla sell off in March and April came and went. And now, used Teslas have the lowest days supply in the industry. The takeaway? Source cars you believe in and sell with commitment. 
• Always Be Learning: The dealers that sell the most used EVs have a secret: they - and their teams - drive electric cars. Even if they also drive gas cars, they can speak to customers with confidence and ease about charging, winter range loss, and all the cool app features. 
• Recruit states to help: States can step in with backfill rebates for used EVs. California has talked about it, while Washington and Colorado have used EV incentives on the books. Point of sale rebates move used cars quickly.
• Add dealer incentives: Dealers in non-backfill states should consider their own “cash on hood” rebates as part of their merchandising strategy -- where some units qualify and some don’t.
• Adjust Expectations: Without incentives, dealers should plan for 70-80 day holds on used EVs, meaning higher flooring costs. Today, non-eligible units have been selling more slowly than that because of the presence of eligible units. Case in point: the average hold time for used EVs priced between $25K - $30K is 73 days -- far lower than the 214 day hold time of non-eligible units under $25K.

Methodology:

We worked with our partners at Edmunds, an all-in-one automotive resource that offers EV research, range testing, and EV-specific listing details, to pull tens of thousands of EV listings. All listings were from 1/1/24 to 4/29/25, filtered for only units that were 2 model years or earlier and listed below $25K. These are the same restrictions required for the used EV tax credit, so these are all vehicles that could have been eligible had the unit not been sold to an individual buyer after August 16, 2022.

We then confirmed whether these VINs had been sold to an individual after the August 2022 date. Data was analyzed and normalized by factors such as model year, odometer and price point.

About this data

The data in Recurrent’s quarterly reports comes from our partner, Marketcheck.

Previous Reports

Each quarter we publish a new report with the latest industry data. Browse this section to review previous reports and their findings.

Q1 2025 Report

1. Federal rebate uncertainty is driving record EV sales to begin 2025, particularly with used cars, which have seen 2024 sales increase by 62.6% from 2023 numbers.
2. EV lease rates are expected to decrease sharply from around 50% in 2024, but the used EV market will expand by more than 1,000,000 lease returns over the next 2 years.
3. EV battery prices dropped 20%. Prices are trending for battery replacement costs to be lower than major gas engine work by 2030.

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Q4 2024 Report

• EV depreciation improves with market maturity and tax credit floor
• Why so many used EV values are converging around $25,000
• EV lease rates soar to double auto industry average
• Rebate-eligible used EV supply to double starting in January

Q3 2024 Report

1. Used EV prices are stabilizing so it’s a good time to jump back in if you’re a buyer, dealer, or seller.
2. Expect supply constraints on used EVs until 2026, when lease returns boost inventory with gently used electric cars.
3. The overall electric car market is still on track to hit nearly 50% by 2030 — full report here.
4. Used EV prices and availability can vary dramatically by state — full report here.

Q2 2024 Report

• Used EV prices continue to fall, increasing accessibility for more buyers.
• More than half of used EV sales are potentially eligible for a $4000 rebate.
• The average price of new electric vehicles will reach parity with the average price across the overall auto industry by the end of 2024. As of today, it is only $2000 more before factoring in any federal rebates.
• Many tax credit eligible new EVs are already less expensive than the average car. 
• This year’s Best Used EV is announced.

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Q4 2023 Report

• The average listing price of a used Tesla Model 3 has fallen below $30,000 for 2017 to 2019 vehicles, putting roughly 300,000 used EVs within reach of a federal rebate. 
• Tesla may also be incentivized to slash prices again on some new models since it is expected that many new Model 3 vehicles will no longer receive a new-car EV tax credit in 2024. 
• Used EV sales volume in 2024 will increase by roughly 100% over 2022 and 40% over 2023. 
• Only 7% of U.S. car dealerships have taken steps to register for time-of-sale rebates, which could make it difficult for buyers to capture the instant savings.

Q4 2023 Report

• Used EV sales, as a segment, now dwarf the sales of every new EV model besides Tesla Model Y and 3.
• The Recurrent Price Index, which tracks the overall used EV market pricing, has fallen 32% year-over-year to an average of $27,800 -- a level last seen in early 2021. 
• Nearly 30% of used EVs now qualify for $4000 clean vehicle credit, just ahead of point-of-sale rebate regulations, beginning January 1.

Q3 2023 Report

• Used EV prices continue to fall, with nearly 40% of inventory is under $30K
• If you’re looking for a specific make or model of used EV, where you look matters. Here are states that have the most inventory by brand. 
• Used Teslas hold their value – but not last year’s models. Tesla continues to drive down its own prices in a bid to capture market share, accelerating one-year depreciation. 

Q2 2023

• After two years of wild ups and downs, used EV prices are settling almost exactly where they were in April 2021. However, an influx of newer model-year vehicles into the second hand market keeps the average price market-wide around $38,000
• Used Teslas hold value better than most luxury cars despite five rounds - and counting - of price cuts to the full lineup since January.
• Metro areas with rapidly growing used EV markets share many characteristics: average commutes under 30 minutes, median age under 40 and median income in the mid-to-high $70K

Q1 2023

• Used EV Market Triples in Size - the number of electric cars in inventory is not just a measure of a growing market. It also can indicate that vehicles are sitting longer on dealer lots, as a result of higher interest rates. 
• Recurrent Price Index has fallen 17% from its July 2022 peak, driven by falling prices in the used Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3
• The number of used EVs that are potentially eligible for a tax credit is up 30%

Q4 2022

• Used EV prices are beginning to decline, albeit, slowly
• Only 12% of used EVs would qualify for a used car tax credit today
• Used plug-in hybrids will dominate tax credit eligibility early in the year
• Market data suggests that 2017 and older model year EVs are most likely to be eligible for used EV tax credits in 2023

Q3 2022 Report

According to our inventory data, derived from over 50,000 car dealers, roughly one third of the estimated 158,689 total EV sales in Q1 2022 were used cars – official Q2 numbers are still pending. In fact, after new Tesla sales, used EVs make up the second largest portion of EV purchases.

Some other quick stats before we dive into the theme of the quarter:

• The average price of used EVs in July 2022 was $40,714, well above the newly proposed $25,000 used EV tax credit limit.
• 17.9% of used EV sales in the past 90 days were under $25,000.
• The average minimum listing price for used EVs that Recurrent tracks (including lots of like-new 2022 "used" cars) is $29,400.

Read more about the Rise of the Used EV.

Q2 2022 Report

• Higher used EV prices are the new normal
• The rise of the "new" used car
• Chevy Bolt battery replacements prove that calendar age matters
• The Tesla Model 3 takeover is here

Q1 2022 Report

• It’s still a seller’s market for used EVs
• Used EV prices are continuing to rise
• Used EV prices still higher than used ICE prices
• New Tesla price hikes in 2021 are causing used Tesla prices to soar
• People are talking a lot about Tesla battery replacements

Q3 2021 Report

• Compares climbing used EV prices to all used cars
• Revisits the state of the used EV market six months after our first report
• Determines the percent of used EV values below an important $25,000 price point
• Monitors a significant contraction in used EV inventory by state
  

In July, both Recurrent sales data and national analyses suggested that used car prices were starting to level off. The past two months of price data is further evidence that the market has stabilized. For used EVs, we saw a 2.32% price increase in from July to August, and a 0.39% increase going into September. Meanwhile, the overall used car price index saw a decline of 1.5% from August to September, meaning that used EVs pricing outpaced the used combustion engine market. We will continue to track this trend after this year of anomalous pricing.

Despite the used car market leveling off, the ongoing semiconductor shortage is still affecting US automakers. Last week, GM announced that most US production would pause after Labor Day, and many other auto manufacturers foresee temporary layoffs and production slow downs. This suggests that although used EV prices may have stabilized, they will not go back down to pre-summer levels anytime soon. An EV can require ten times more semiconductors than an ICE car, so expect electric inventory to remain limited as buyers looking for new EVs compete with buyers in the used markets.

Our methodology to calculate the used EV price index is to use a representative sample of popular vehicles and compare national averages for retail prices. The models we included in our bundle are: 2017 BMW i3, Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model S; 2018 BMW 530e, Honda Clarity, 2018 Nissan LEAF; 2019 Audi e-tron, Tesla Model 3, VW e-Golf.

In March, Recurrent released its first used EV buying guide to highlight the growth of the market and report on trends that were not being covered by other automotive sources. Six months later, we have seen meteoric price increases, drastic inventory contractions, and a shift in what model years are most popular in inventory.

As of September 2021, over 48% of all used EVs in the US are under $25,000 and nearly 30% are under $20,000. The $20-$25K price range is the target for auto manufacturers looking to produce a mass market EV to win over everyday, budget-conscious drivers, as rumors of a Tesla Model 2 or Volkswagen ID.2 suggest. New EVs available for around $25K will inject the used market with a supply of reliable electric cars priced around $10-$15K in a few years, and attract new drivers to the electric market.

As reported in March, there had been an almost 50% increase in used EV inventory since summer 2020. However, since that report, the inventory number has dropped 21% despite a modest increase in the last 2 months. Supply has dropped at least 35% in top EV states since March. Both Oregon and Virginia lost over 63% of their inventory in six months. The only state that remained near constant was Tennessee, losing only a handful of total inventory since March. These numbers are consistent with the overall used car market, which saw unprecedented low inventory this summer.

Refreshing the used EV stock has been incredibly difficult with inventory shortages around the country, and dealerships are struggling to find cars to sell. This inventory shortage has several causes.

In part, it is due to the global semiconductor shortage, which is causing significant production delays in new cars. That has pushed shoppers to consider the used market. Since EVs require ten times the number of semiconductors as ICE cars, this is a strong effect in the used EV market.

Secondly, the market is still reeling from the pandemic: dealerships that initially scaled down their supply or offered deep discounts to move cars off their lots are now scrambling to replenish a fleeting inventory that is not being filled by rental car sellers or fleet vehicle turnover.

We can expect inventory to remain very tight through the end of 2021.

August 2021 Report

• Who sells the most used Teslas? The answer would depend on which model you’re interested in.
• How have the ongoing Chevy Bolt recalls impacted the market for used Bolts?
• How do lease rates for new EVs impact the availability of used EVs?

July 2021 Report

• Used electric car retail prices in June continued to climb, but at a slightly slower pace, which could indicate the beginning of a market equilibrium being reached.
• We looked at different brands to determine the most popular EV by state. Overall, Tesla continues to be the most popular used electric car brand, with 26% of the used market nationally.
• The Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3 are two of the most popular all-electric vehicles on the road today. We did a Bolt vs Model 3 comparison to learn how their individual battery is aging across makes, models, years and climates.

June 2021 Report

• Chevy Volt has found its way to the top of the used electric list by selling more than any other EV model. Combined with new Bolt sales in 2021, GM is having a very big year. Although there could be a surge in Model 3 inventory soon.
• Used EV prices are still climbing. We recorded another 9% increase in average prices over the last 30 days.
• Used Teslas sell faster than any other used EV. We reviewed the number of vehicle sales for various brands compared to the number in dealer inventory to arrive at a relative proxy of used car turnover. Tesla is way ahead.

May 2021 Report

• Used EV prices have been soaring by $1000’s over the last few months -- driven up by high demand and the same chip shortages that are hindering the new vehicle market.
• There’s incredible price volatility from state to state. We’re seeing $3000 - $6000 price differences for the same vehicles across state lines.
• The used Tesla ecosystem is such a big part of the overall used EV market that it makes sense to look at how that’s evolving. Tesla.com itself is a player, but it only represents 7% of the used Tesla inventory, a far cry from its complete control of new Tesla sales.

State by State Pricing Shows Huge Variability for Popular EV Models

Like many things, used EV prices vary from state to state. There isn’t a hard and fast rule about where EVs are more expensive, including the biggest EV states like California, but there is a very wide range in the prices for popular models state to state. It’s common to see a $5,000 spread between the least and most expensive states.

Drilling into the Used Tesla Market: Lots of Choices

Does the direct-to-consumer sales model hold for pre-owned Teslas? We found that only 7% of today’s used Tesla listings are on tesla.com.

April 2021 Report

• From last month, the overall trend in the used EV market is a decrease in inventory - in particular, GMs, Teslas, and Fiats are being bought up faster than their stock can be replenished. Dealerships across the country are noting inventory shortages on used vehicles in general -- as an indirect result of slower-than-expected new vehicle manufacturing.
• Despite these recent decreases, March inventory is still 37% higher than July 2020 signaling increased interest in used EVs.
• 2018 models have now surpassed 2017 models as the most popular used EVs on the market.

BMW Leads Used EV Market

Last month, we saw Teslas hold their place as the most common used EV on the market. However, the used stock of almost all EVs decreased through March - except for BMW. Perhaps it’s anticipation for the forthcoming i4, or delivery of new i3s, but there has been an increase in the availability of used 530e’s, 330e’s, and the X5 - xDrive40e. If you’ve been keeping your eye on one of these models, it may be a good time to check prices, as the average has dipped slightly in the past month. Used i3’s, on the other hand, continue to retain their value and even showed slight price increases, with 2018s being the best represented year in the market and 2017s at their heels.

Examining Cost per EPA Range Mile

One way to look at used EV prices is by comparing cost per range mile using EPA estimated range. One thing to keep in mind is that EPA range specifies how far your EV will go when the battery is new. EV batteries degrade based on age, how they have been driven, and how they have been stored. To really understand the value of an EV, it is critical to understand the battery in its current state, after several summers in the driveway or several hundred charging cycles.

March 2021 Report

Seasonality exists in used car sales and due to COVID-related economic changes, but this trend is real. Used car sales follow a predictable time delay, peaking at 3-4 years after being sold new. This pattern exists in electric vehicles as well: Six months ago, the most common model year for sale in used EVs was 2017 by far. Now, there are nearly as many 2018 model year used EVs for sale as 2017’s.

The Most Popular Used Electric Cars in March

• Used Tesla Model S, Model 3 and Model X are a large and growing part of the used electric market.
• BMW EVs are a surprisingly strong part of used EV inventories, but it’s not the i3’s that are growing in supply. Instead, there’s been a surge of the availability of BMW’s plug-in hybrids (5-Series 550e, 3-series 330e and the X5 xDrive40e) in the last 6 months.
• Despite the Nissan Leaf being one of the most recognizable EVs on the road for years, it’s only the 4th most popular used EV for sale today.
  

How do older EV batteries hold up?

EV owners and shoppers perceive that EV batteries last just seven years (Cox Automotive study), but the reality is generally better. A lot of factors play into the battery life of each EV over its life, including manufacturing variances, pack layouts and cooling systems, calendar age, use, temperature history, charging behavior. In our data analysis of 1000’s of EVs on the road, we’ve found that odometer reading alone isn’t particularly helpful in understanding each vehicle’s battery life.