Photo: Carmakers
Everyone in the so-called "mainstream media" talks about an EV fiasco as the sales of electric vehicles are grinding to a halt. While this might be accurate, it primarily affects legacy carmakers whose EVs fail to attract customers. A recent study reveals that the Kia EV6 and Ford F-150 Lightning are among the slowest-selling used vehicles.
Many traditional carmakers faced sluggish EV sales, with their models spending more time on dealers' lots than on the roads. The trend worries analysts and terrifies car dealers, who have started to push back against electrification plans. Many argue that people don't want electric vehicles, and carmakers seem to concur. The biggest carmakers in the US, Ford and GM, have announced scaling back their EV plans, while Stellantis hasn't even started.
However, these claims are valid only for electric vehicles produced by legacy carmakers. Despite this alleged downward trend, electric vehicle share in the total car market continues to grow rapidly. Even though traditional automakers struggle with EV sales, Tesla and EV startups like Rivian thrive. This proves there's no problem with people's desire to buy electric vehicles. It's more like EVs produced by GM, Ford, and the like are not competitive.
A recent iSeeCars study analyzed the used car prices in the US and came to intriguing conclusions. Based on the fact that used EV prices have dropped significantly in the past year (33.7% compared to 5.1% for the average used car), the iSeeCars study seems to support carmakers who say people don't want electric vehicles. But looking closely at the data, it's evident that used EV prices tanked because new EV prices have also been slashed, with market leader Tesla leading the way.
Tesla operated the most dramatic price cuts throughout 2023, starting with a massive discount (more than 20%) in January. This naturally crashed the used EV prices across the board since new ones were far cheaper. The study confirms this, citing the Tesla Model X, Model S, and Model 3 as experiencing the biggest price drops. And because these models are dominant on the market, reflecting Tesla sales, they squeezed the entire used EV market. This makes me think that iSeeCars doesn't have the best data for this year's study.
Three of the ten slowest-selling used cars in iSeeCars' study are electric vehicles: the Kia EV6, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Polestar 2. These models spend, on average, 96, 78, and 73 days on the market versus the market average of 49 days. And yet, another electric vehicle, the Rivian R1T, sits among the fastest-selling used cars, at only 35 days on the market. Teslas are also among the fastest-selling EVs, with the Model S, Model 3, and Model Y at 49, 45, and 43 days on the market, respectively. The Model X is the slowest to sell among them, at 53 days, the only one above the market's average.
This shows that how fast a used vehicle sells doesn't depend on being electric or a truck but solely on how attractive it is to buyers. Naturally, what this study reveals (and carmakers should take this seriously) is that legacy EVs can't hold a candle to Tesla and Rivian models. The only legacy EV model that breaks the mold is the Chevrolet EV/EUV (42-43 days on the market), mostly because of its affordable price. It's still ironic that GM announced killing it at the end of this year.
However, these claims are valid only for electric vehicles produced by legacy carmakers. Despite this alleged downward trend, electric vehicle share in the total car market continues to grow rapidly. Even though traditional automakers struggle with EV sales, Tesla and EV startups like Rivian thrive. This proves there's no problem with people's desire to buy electric vehicles. It's more like EVs produced by GM, Ford, and the like are not competitive.
A recent iSeeCars study analyzed the used car prices in the US and came to intriguing conclusions. Based on the fact that used EV prices have dropped significantly in the past year (33.7% compared to 5.1% for the average used car), the iSeeCars study seems to support carmakers who say people don't want electric vehicles. But looking closely at the data, it's evident that used EV prices tanked because new EV prices have also been slashed, with market leader Tesla leading the way.
Tesla operated the most dramatic price cuts throughout 2023, starting with a massive discount (more than 20%) in January. This naturally crashed the used EV prices across the board since new ones were far cheaper. The study confirms this, citing the Tesla Model X, Model S, and Model 3 as experiencing the biggest price drops. And because these models are dominant on the market, reflecting Tesla sales, they squeezed the entire used EV market. This makes me think that iSeeCars doesn't have the best data for this year's study.
Three of the ten slowest-selling used cars in iSeeCars' study are electric vehicles: the Kia EV6, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Polestar 2. These models spend, on average, 96, 78, and 73 days on the market versus the market average of 49 days. And yet, another electric vehicle, the Rivian R1T, sits among the fastest-selling used cars, at only 35 days on the market. Teslas are also among the fastest-selling EVs, with the Model S, Model 3, and Model Y at 49, 45, and 43 days on the market, respectively. The Model X is the slowest to sell among them, at 53 days, the only one above the market's average.
This shows that how fast a used vehicle sells doesn't depend on being electric or a truck but solely on how attractive it is to buyers. Naturally, what this study reveals (and carmakers should take this seriously) is that legacy EVs can't hold a candle to Tesla and Rivian models. The only legacy EV model that breaks the mold is the Chevrolet EV/EUV (42-43 days on the market), mostly because of its affordable price. It's still ironic that GM announced killing it at the end of this year.
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