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Electric vehicle residual values move closer to diesel

Rupert Pontin Head of Valuations 19806
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17 March 2015

Rupert Pontin Head of Valuations
Rupert Pontin: electric vehicle residual values edging closer to diesel models

IT’s a case of clashing acronyms as EV RVs get better!

As electric vehicle technology becomes more accepted, we’re starting to see electric vehicle residual values move closer to traditional diesel cars.

In some cases, RV forecasts are already broadly similar to their diesel equivalent.

The gold standard for electric vehicle residual values is the Tesla Model S. Its minimum 220 mile range means that its three year/60,000 mile value is around 43% – almost exactly the same as a well-established direct competitor, the BMW M535D M Sport.

Why residual values of EVs will improve

EVs of one kind or another currently account for about 2% of the market. However, if the UK is to meet its 2020 emissions target of 95g/km per vehicle, their penetration must increase quite rapidly.

As this happens and they become a more familiar part of our daily lives, we expect EV RVs to firm up and stabilise.

It’s not just the Tesla. Elsewhere in the market, EV values are also closing the gap on diesels:

  • The Vauxhall Ampera Electron’s 27.58% at 3 year/60,000 miles is not far adrift of the Insignia SRI CDTi’s 34.56%
  • the BMW i3 extender Suite at 39.11% is just a few points away from the BMW 320d Sport’s 43.46%.

Clearly, there is still a difference here between EVs and diesels but there are signs that it is closing all the time. Crucially, when the overall running costs of an EV are taken into account, factors such as savings on fuel mean that they may beat traditional models.

A major boost in the last few months has been Nissan’s announcement that a new battery pack for the Leaf EV would cost 5000 euros (£3600).

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