Page 1 of 1

EV (specifically Tesla) residuals - bubble burst?

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2023 8:56 am
by daern
Interesting discussion on Twitter here:


Is the used car market finally returning to normal, or is the cost of energy (and especially public charger prices) finally having an impact on the desirability of EVs?

Re: EV (specifically Tesla) residuals - bubble burst?

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:34 am
by monkeyhanger
I think it's a bit of both.

I do think that used Teslas were ridiculously overpriced considering:

1. US assembled cars had shocking build quality
2. The only thing luxurious about it is the price (very ordinary inside and out, although the drive train and batteries are fantastic.
3. Lead times for Teslas were always short - on that basis, who'd pay nearly new money for a well used one?

Similarly, used ID3s are not going for more than RRPof a new one any more - if you paid £45k for a year old Family spec one, you may be crucified when you trade it in.

Only time will tell what lies ahead for the Born, but if people "get" that the Cupra brand has been placed between VW and Audi by VAG, they should be prepared to pay more for a used Born than an equivalent ID3 down the line.

I've been used to getting 55% of RRP back after 3 years on any performance VAG I've had before this bubble, but I've also been used to getting 15% discount on the RRP, that never happened this time around (but I made a 25% profit on the ID3, which made up for that).

In future though, if people are going to see "normal" depreciation on an EV, they need to see some incentive or discount on the front end so they're not losing £20k on an EV rather than £15k on a cheaper ICE equivalent. I'm not used to losing more than £3k depreciation per year on any car I've ever had.

If paying £10k extra for an EV doesn't bear rewards in better residuals, and home charging is nowhere near as cheap as it was, or you can't charge at home then the main financial reason for having one is gone.

Re: EV (specifically Tesla) residuals - bubble burst?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 4:08 pm
by monkeyhanger
In case anyone's interested, I was poking around on the Cupra website, and I see that for my car, a V2 with E-Boost, at 3 years, the GFV has gone up from around £20800 last May, to £22239. I know that they should always be worth quite a bit more that, but it does show that VWFS' confidence in residuals for the Born is increasing.