Used electric cars have never been this cheap — here's the catch

Last updated 20 July 2026 · Published 8 July 2026 · By Elaine, Motor Trade Editor

If you have ever fancied an electric car but choked on the price, 2026 is your moment — used EVs have quietly become some of the best value on the forecourt.

The numbers are genuinely a bit mad. The average used electric car now changes hands for around £20,000, down from roughly £39,000 just three years ago. That is close to half. Some individual models have shed as much as 28% of their value, which means a fair few EVs now cost less used than the equivalent petrol car. Someone took that depreciation hit — and it wasn’t you.

Why the crash happened

A flood of nearly-new stock, nervous early demand and rapid new-car improvements have all piled in at once. EVs simply depreciate harder than petrol and diesel in the early years — figures vary, but losing 40% or more over three years is common, and steeper than a comparable combustion car. Brutal for the first owner. Brilliant for the second. If you have never got your head around why cars bleed value like this, our plain-English guide to depreciation is a quick primer.

Where the value is

Here’s the thing: the sweet spot is two to three years old. The nastiest drop happens in the first 12 to 18 months, so a car in that window has already taken the beating while still having plenty of life — and often a chunk of transferable battery warranty — left in it.

And the running costs are where an EV quietly claws money back. Charged at home, you are looking at roughly 3-5p a mile against maybe 15-20p for a petrol car — the sort of gap that adds up to four figures a year if you cover proper miles. Our cost per mile breakdown does the maths on exactly how much you claw back at the plug.

The catch nobody mentions

Now the important bit, so read this twice. On a used EV, battery State of Health has overtaken mileage as the single biggest factor in what a car is worth — and what it is worth to you. A tired battery means less range and a weaker resale down the line, and you cannot spot it from the driver’s seat.

So treat a used EV like any used car, only more so. Run a full vehicle history check to rule out write-offs, outstanding finance and clocking, and comb the service record for signs of neglect. Then ask for a battery health readout on top — a reputable seller will happily provide one. Our checklist of what to watch out for when buying a used car covers the rest, and it is worth comparing the best used-car websites so you are not just trawling one forecourt.

The verdict

Used EVs in 2026 are the classic case of one person’s loss being your gain. The value is real, the running costs are lower, and the choice has never been wider — the reborn electric Nissan Micra will only add to it. Just do your homework on battery health and the paperwork, keep half an eye on how the tax rules are changing, and you’ll bag a genuine bargain rather than someone else’s headache.