Used electric vehicles under $25,000 surge as new EV sales crash

[Zorro]

Traffic may have dried up at electric vehicle dealerships after the end of federal purchase incentives, but sales of used electric cars and trucks have only accelerated.

Almost 89,000 used EVs changed hands in the last three months of 2025, up 13.5% from a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive. What’s more, the inventory of used electric machines is turning over in about 50 days, slightly faster than for gas-powered cars. By contrast, sales of new EVs fell 36% in the fourth quarter of last year.

“The buzz word for the year is ‘affordability’ for a really good reason,” said Liz Najman, director of market insights at Recurrent, which provides range estimates and other EV-centric data to car dealers and shoppers. “You can get a two- or three-year-old EV for 50% off and you’re talking about something with a lot of technology and a warranty on the battery.”

For a long time the used EV market in the United States was stagnant. There weren’t a lot of cars for sale and buyers worried about batteries in older models dying out. But EV batteries are proving to be more durable than expected, and in the U.S., they’re generally covered under warranty for at least eight years or 100,000 miles.

New EVs still outsell used ones by a long shot, but analysts say a mature used market will help buttress demand for new battery-powered machines. When shopping for a new car, more than 90% of EV owners choose to go electric again.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-02-17/used-electric-vehicles-under-25-000-surge-as-new-ev-sales-crash

[tinrobot]

1. Lots of 2-3 year old EVs coming off leases in '26

Those vehicles coming on the market will probably drive down prices even further.

It's a great time to wean yourself off of big oil and go electric.

[Bmoboy]

2. What about hybrids?

Charging stations are not always available or convenient. Personal charging stations in garages have had safety (fire) issues.

[tinrobot]

3. They do not have safety/fire issues

Please stop with the misinformation.

[Bmoboy]

5. No safety/fire issues?

There are safety/fire issues with clothes dryers, backup generators, and even space heaters.

The average person is not a skilled electrician. The introduction of a powerful electrical charging station to a personal garage, next to a large lithium battery, is a serious proposition.

I have interest in hybrids because they allow for some continued use even in a power outage.

[tinrobot]

6. Uh... I had a skilled/licensed electrician install my charger.

I would strongly suggest that for anyone who needs a 40-50A circuit installed.

If you're so worried about fire - I hope you know that hybrids also have lithium batteries, along with tank full of highly-flammable gasoline. That makes them even more risky because gasoline fires are far more common than battery fires.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/evs-vs-gas-cars-which-is-really-more-likely-to-catch-fire/ar-AA1VZRNt

[EdmondDantes_]

8. What's the likelihood of the risk?

I suspect you're substantially more likely to die from a car accident that a fire caused by a faulty installation of a home charging station. You may hear more about the faulty wiring problem, but it's like you hear about plane crashes even though it's statistically far safer than driving a car and you only hear about severe car crashes.

[get the red out]

4. I would LOVE one

But I worry that charging stations will disappear (probably with the administration's encouragement).

[tinrobot]

7. There's more charging than ever. Charging stations grew by 30% last year

And most of those were privately funded.

Charging is better than it's ever been. More stations, better reliability, faster speeds, more choices.

Don't make the fear of charging the reason you don't buy one. The more EVs, the more demand for charging, the more chargers get installed. Wash, rinse repeat and gas cars are thing of the past.