Electric Motoring
Secondhand values of the first generation of electric cars will be subjected to heavy falls as concerns with battery life and performance effects the resale value, warns car trade value guide company Glass's.
The vehicle values expert say resale values for electics will be far below those for petrol and diesel models, unless manufacturers move to address concerns over the viable life of the very expensive battery packs.
After one year of ownership Glass's predict electric car residual values will be above the segment average expressed in terms of pound values, but, if the battery is owned rather than leased, and lacks an appropriate extended warranty, the value will then fall dramatically until the vehicle is five years old, at which point the car will have a trade value of around 10 per cent of the list price.
Glass’s have worked with three electric vehicle manufacturers to conduct an analysis of the factors that will affect depreciation for EVs.
It says that EVs will depreciate significantly after five years of ownership due to uncertainty over battery packs.
Glass's says that manufacturers should lease battery packs instead of selling them within the list price of an electric vehicle.
EV batteries are expected to have a useful life of up to eight years and will cost around £8,000 to replace. Anyone buying an EV model of several years would face the likelihood of replacing the battery pack.
"If the anticipated £8,000 cost of the battery in such a car were taken off the list price, and recovered instead through a long-term £100-per-month battery lease scheme, the retained value in monetary terms would make it one of the best performing used cars in its segment, rather than one of the worst," Andy Carroll, Managing Director at Glass’s
Electric cars likely to hit the UK market over coming years include the GM Voltz, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-Zero. Electric version of the Ford Focus, Mini plus a range of commercial vehicles.
With volume production of electic cars only to getting underway in 2012, Glass's predict that demand over the next few years will outstrip supply, especially in the used market, so it is imperetive the issue's are addressed sooner rather than later.
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