Electric vehicles are gaining resale value as their driving ranges improve, though they still lose value faster than gasoline-powered cars, according to research from George Washington University.
More than half of all car sales happen in the used market, making resale value a critical metric for EVs. Consumers tend to shy away from buying cars that don’t hold their value.
Research has long shown a discrepancy in resale value between EVs and gas-fueled cars. But the new study — published in the journal Environmental Research Letters — found that the gap is narrowing. However, federal subsidies are helping to control both the upfront cost of new EVs and their price on the resale market, according to the study.
The results are both good news and bad news for EV buyers, said John Paul Helveston, an assistant professor at George Washington University who co-authored the paper with graduate student and lead author Laura Roberson.
