Used EV bargain market grows
A cheaper used‑EV segment is expanding as bargain hunters step in while new EV sales slowed in Q1, suggesting a two‑tier EV market is emerging. That split could require separate underwriting and remarketing logic for new versus used EV programmes. (claimsjournal.com)
Used electric vehicles are becoming the growth pocket of the U.S. car market as new electric-vehicle sales retreat. (claimsjournal.com) Cox Automotive said U.S. buyers purchased 216,399 new electric vehicles in the first quarter of 2026, down 27% from a year earlier and down 7.8% from the fourth quarter. Electric vehicles held 5.8% of total new-vehicle sales, unchanged from late 2025 and below their 10.6% peak in the third quarter of 2025. (coxautoinc.com) At the same time, used electric-vehicle sales rose, with Claims Journal reporting a 20% first-quarter increase from a year earlier, citing Cox Automotive. Used models are now close to price parity with comparable pre-owned gasoline cars, according to dealers and market trackers. (claimsjournal.com, recurrentauto.com) The split follows the September 30, 2025 expiration of federal purchase incentives worth up to $7,500 for many new electric vehicles. Cox said the market has entered “a new chapter” without government support, while iSeeCars found non-Tesla new electric-vehicle prices fell 2.3% after the credit ended. (claimsjournal.com, coxautoinc.com, iseecars.com) Price gaps inside the used market are widening too. iSeeCars said used Tesla prices rose 4.3% between September 2025 and January 2026, while other used electric vehicles fell 3.6%; used Teslas averaged $31,329 in January, versus $23,738 for non-Tesla used electric vehicles. (iseecars.com) That is creating a cheaper entry tier for buyers who care more about monthly payments than new-car incentives. Recurrent said 56% of used electric-vehicle inventory was priced below $30,000 as of January, and those cars were, on average, one year newer and carried nearly 30,000 fewer miles than comparably priced used gasoline cars. (recurrentauto.com) Dealers say higher gasoline prices added urgency in March and early April. Alex Lawrence, owner of The EV Group in Tennessee and Utah, told Claims Journal his stores saw a bigger spike after the U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran, while Plug founder Jimmy Douglas said every electric vehicle on his wholesale platform drew 14 bids on average in the first quarter, double a year earlier. (claimsjournal.com) Cox said shopping traffic for electric vehicles increased as fuel prices turned volatile, but it cautioned that searches do not always translate quickly into purchases. Kelley Blue Book Managing Editor Sean Tucker said a spike in actual sales after one month of higher gas prices would be unusual because car shopping usually takes longer. (coxautoinc.com) The used supply wave is also getting bigger. Recurrent said lease returns are adding inventory, and its January snapshot showed 55% of used electric vehicles on the market were 2023 model year or newer; Tesla alone made up 30% of pre-owned inventory. (recurrentauto.com) For insurers, lenders and fleet remarketers, that means the electric-vehicle market is no longer moving as one block. New electric vehicles are being priced and sold in a post-subsidy market, while used electric vehicles are increasingly competing on affordability, mileage and fuel savings. (coxautoinc.com, claimsjournal.com, recurrentauto.com)
