EVs Facing Heavier Depreciation Than Gasoline Counterparts

Mainstream electric vehicles (EV) are depreciating much faster than their gas sister models, according to new data from Black Book.

Black Book editors looked at the prices of a new Nissan Leaf vs. Versa; a Mitsubishi i-MiEV vs. Lancer; Ford Focus Electric vs. Focus; and a Chevrolet Volt vs. Cruze.

The electric car premium over a counterpart gasoline model for mainstream brands has pretty much disappeared for used vehicles from an average premium of $16,600 for new vehicles. In fact, in several cases, a used electric model now costs less than its gasoline counterpart.

"On several of today's popular EV vehicles, the depreciation curve is very steep, largely driven by lack of consumer demand preferences for fuel-efficient models with current price of gas," said Anil Goyal, vice president of Automotive Valuation and Analytics for Black Book. "Smaller cars have experienced heavier depreciation over the last 12-18 months, but it’s clear that the small mainstream electric vehicles are experiencing even heavier valuation drops."

 * Used value as percent of new effective retail after federal incentive.