Used EVs & hybrids with strongest sales, biggest price drops

The market for used hybrid and electric vehicles remains limited, but supply appears to be on the rise, and for some models, there was even some price relief in recent months.

Of the 10 used vehicles with the largest price declines (percentage-wise) in the second half of 2022, seven were alternative-fuel vehicles, including five EVs and two hybrids.

That’s according to the CarGurus Intelligence Report for December, which was specifically looking at 2013-2021 model-year vehicles.

No. 1 on the list was the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, whose used retail prices fell 26.5% between July and December, followed respectively by Tesla’s Model S (down 24.3%), Model 3 (down 23.8%), Model Y (down 20.9%) and Model X (down 19.6%), according to CarGurus.

Another electric, the BMW i3, was seventh, with a 19.2% price softening in the back half of the year.

The Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid was No. 9, with a 17.8% drop.

CarGurus director of industry analytics Kevin Roberts authored the report, which delved into both the overall new- and used-car markets.

As part of a related but separate analysis, iSeeCars.com looked at the best-selling used hybrids and EVs from 2022.

The firm’s overall analysis (which included insights beyond just EVs and hybrids) looked at more than 9.8 million used-car sales last year of vehicles from the 2017-2021 model years.

The most popular used hybrid last year was the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, which had a 0.3% share of total used-car sales. It was followed by the Ford Fusion Hybrid, which had a 0.2% share and was No. 1 in 2021, according to iSeeCars.

Placing third was the Toyota Prius (0.1% share), followed by the Toyota Camry Hybrid (0.1%) and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid (0.1%)

“Hybrid models still make up a small fraction of both the used and new vehicle market, but every new model year sees more hybrids introduced, and their market share continues to climb,” iSeeCars said in the report, which was authored by executive analyst Karl Brauer.

Despite Toyota’s dominance among used hybrids, iSeeCars anticipates gains from competitors. New hybrid offerings from automakers like Hyundai, Honda, Kia and Subaru mean more pre-owned options eventually.

As for EVs, Tesla essentially runs the table.

The Model 3 came in first with a 0.4% share of the used market, followed by the Model Y (0.1% share), Model S (0.1% share) and Model X (0.1% share), iSeeCars said. The Nissan Leaf was fifth (0.1%).

“Electric vehicles make up an even smaller part of the used market than hybrids, as most are relatively new to the market except for Tesla’s Model S and the Nissan Leaf,” the report noted.

“It’s no surprise to see those brands take up all five slots for most popular used electric cars in America. But Tesla’s EV dominance will soon be challenged by every brand from Acura to Volkswagen, and this list could look very different in a few years.”

Both Roberts of CarGurus and Brauer of iSeeCars participated in the  “Inside the Used-Car Retail Market with Top Industry Analysts” panel at Used Car Week. The discussion from that panel, which also included Zack Krelle of TrueCar and David Greene of Cars.com, can be found below.