Why second-hand electric cars are so hard to find in Germany

MUNICH: New electric cars are still pricey and buying a pre-owned example seems like a good idea. The trouble is that these models are so scarce on the ground that they sometimes cost more to buy than a car straight from the showroom floor.

Things are upside down in the electric car market at the moment and buyers will probably have to wait a few years before supply outweighs demand.

On Germany's huge Mobile.de car sales platform, which attracts sellers from all over Europe, full electrics only account for just 2.4% of cars offered. Figures from the registration authorities showed that in January only 1% of electrics changed hands.

The platform is typical of many worldwide and of the average 1.27 million cars for sale, only 25,500 use electrics were up for grabs in early 2023. Excluded from the figures were cars aged over 20 years and those with 200,000km on the odometer. Few electrics fall into these categories.

A closer look at what is on offer reveals a divergence from the new car market. The most common on Mobile.de is the Renault Zoe, ahead of the Tesla Model 3 and the boxy, upright BMW i3, which is no longer produced. In 2022, the most frequently newly-registered pure electric vehicles were Tesla Model Y, Model 3 and Fiat 500.

"When it comes to older used electrics, their number is negligible at the moment," said Thomas Peckruhn, Vice President of the German Association of Motor Trades and Repairs ZDJ.

"This is mainly due to the fact that three years ago there was no broad offer of new electric cars and accordingly new registrations were lower," said the expert.

Many cars come up for sale after three years since leasing contracts usually run that long, after which the cars have to undergo bi-annual roadworthy tests.

But the market for used electric vehicles is much younger. The average age of the vehicles on offer at Mobile.de in January was 25 months. Petrol cars were much older at 77 months, as were diesels at 66 months - there are also many old used cars here.

Those who want more choice will have to be patient. "There will probably be a larger supply of used electric cars from 2024 or 2025," said Peckruhn.

By then the leasing returns from previous years will come onto the market with higher shares of electric cars.

What could slow this down however is that almost half of the electric cars sold in recent years went to private individuals. And they usually keep their vehicles for much longer - on average for between five and 10 years.

New electric cars are not cheap to buy, but so-called residual values have recently been lower than for cars with combustion engines. This may be because batteries which wear out are very costly to replace.

Some older electrics have poor battery chemistry, leading to the cells losing capacity very quickly. This renders the car almost worthless since a replacement is often very expensive,

In January, market watchdog DAT calculated a residual value of 61.5% of the new list price for a typical three-year-old electric car. For diesels it was 66.8% and for petrol cars 69.6%. However, part of the difference was due to subsidies for new electric cars being scaled back.

DAT described current demand as "restrained". For the vast majority of car buyers, an electric car is either not an option at all or only as a new car, as the survey for the annual DAT report showed.

Even among the used car buyers surveyed, only 14% said they would consider a used electric. Twice as many among them said "No, only a new e-car".

Nevertheless, the electric cars offered on Mobile.de do sell fairly quickly. In January, the average number of dwell days on the site was 38. For petrol cars, diesels and hybrids, the figure was more than 50 each.

One of the things that concerns buyers when purchasing a used electric vehicle is the condition of the battery. In the DAT survey, the majority of people said this aspect was as important as the mileage.