You want an EV but have doubts...

[Jayt43]

[Kremmen]

[embee]

I've been watching a number of youtube vids regarding the sales of EV cars. Now I am well aware of the caveats regarding online articles and hidden agendas, but there definitely seems to be something of an issue arising. Things which are perhaps skewing the statistics are the rules and penalties facing manufacturers leading to dealership pre-registrations which count as "sales" in order to get the reported numbers up.
Of course politicians probably don't dig deep into such things and will just quote bare statistics which actually can be misleading.
We are also reaching the stage where many early adopters, businesses etc, will be reaching the end of the 3 yr contracts typically used, so a big increase in used EVs reaching the market is being seen. Bottom line is that there are a lot of zero miles (or as good as) pre-reg cars, some maybe a year or two old, being heavily discounted in order to try to shift them, suppressing the used car prices, plus the swell of used car availability further pressuring prices, and not many people wanting to buy either.
Youtube vids by dealers suggest that there are many used EVs being put up for sale where they have had maybe 3 owners in 2 years, each keeping the car for just a few months. That's not really normal for ICE vehicles. The suggestion is that it is EV owners finding that it doesn't suit them and they want to move back to ICE. Sales of hybrids however seem to be more robust, perhaps suiting real world consumer needs better at the moment.
The big issue is whether the market is actually sustainable. Perhaps it is and the youtubers are wrong in their representation, but I'll be interetsed to see how it all pans out over the next year or two, and also how it affects the sales of new and used ICE cars.
One upside for the consumer of course is that if you do want a low miles EV you can get some real bargains, to the point where you might almost find someone willing to pay you to take one away, dealers are apparently not even prepared to offer any trade in price for used EVs when they have a park full of them already, they just don't want any more examples on the forecourt.
Things are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.

[Toptek]

I've been watching a number of youtube vids regarding the sales of EV cars. Now I am well aware of the caveats regarding online articles and hidden agendas, but there definitely seems to be something of an issue arising. Things which are perhaps skewing the statistics are the rules and penalties facing manufacturers leading to dealership pre-registrations which count as "sales" in order to get the reported numbers up.
Of course politicians probably don't dig deep into such things and will just quote bare statistics which actually can be misleading.
We are also reaching the stage where many early adopters, businesses etc, will be reaching the end of the 3 yr contracts typically used, so a big increase in used EVs reaching the market is being seen. Bottom line is that there are a lot of zero miles (or as good as) pre-reg cars, some maybe a year or two old, being heavily discounted in order to try to shift them, suppressing the used car prices, plus the swell of used car availability further pressuring prices, and not many people wanting to buy either.
Youtube vids by dealers suggest that there are many used EVs being put up for sale where they have had maybe 3 owners in 2 years, each keeping the car for just a few months. That's not really normal for ICE vehicles. The suggestion is that it is EV owners finding that it doesn't suit them and they want to move back to ICE. Sales of hybrids however seem to be more robust, perhaps suiting real world consumer needs better at the moment.
The big issue is whether the market is actually sustainable. Perhaps it is and the youtubers are wrong in their representation, but I'll be interetsed to see how it all pans out over the next year or two, and also how it affects the sales of new and used ICE cars.
One upside for the consumer of course is that if you do want a low miles EV you can get some real bargains, to the point where you might almost find someone willing to pay you to take one away, dealers are apparently not even prepared to offer any trade in price for used EVs when they have a park full of them already, they just don't want any more examples on the forecourt.
Things are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.

Interesting and insightful post. I'm in a position where I could manage with a relatively low to mid range EV due to the short trips and considered one in 2020. However, I decided to buy our 2018 Jazz which I suspect I will have for a few more years as not wanting another outlay but your post might make me reconsider.

[John Ratsey]

One market niche for EVs is as the 2nd car in a two vehicle household for the more local trips. However, the majority of EVs on sale are medium to large as that's a more profitable segment of the market when a smaller vehicle is usually preferred for the local trips.

The time will come when I no longer want to drive long journeys and the EV range problem won't be a issue. However, given that my car spends a lot of time parked outside a house which now has a heat pump, it would be useful to use the EV battery to store cheap mains electricity to supply the house (V2H). I'm watching the EV developments with interest to guide what I should do when my HR-V's 5 year service plan and warranty expire in 2027.

[His_name_is_robertpaulson]

£60 for 80 miles is laughable. We just got rid of 25 electric cars at work because it was too expensive to charge and unreliable charging points and unreliable apps. Go figure.