EVs are holding value better than expected – and it has a lot to do with Australia’s cost of living — SkimNews
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- Pickles auctioned 40 written-off BYD EVs in late March after a concrete spray incident and attracted thousands of bidders, with general manager Brendon Green calling the engagement "extraordinary" compared to typical car sales.
- Written-off EVs fetched 16% higher auction prices than petrol equivalents for spare parts and second-life batteries, while repairable write-offs generated a 71% price premium.
- Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries data shows more EVs than petrol-only cars were sold in Australia in September, supported by an influx of Chinese brands offering low-priced EVs.
- Turo Australia bookings for EVs and hybrids grew at 28 times the pace of petrol and diesel over the past year, with hosts buying secondhand EVs to list for rent, according to managing director Rob Chan.
- Pickles tested more than 2,750 used batteries and found five-year-old EVs retain a 93% battery life score, with former ride-share vehicles over 230,000km still rated at about 89%.
- Aman Gaur, policy head at the Electric Vehicle Council, said suburbs with the highest EV uptake include commuter hub Tarneit, 30km west of Melbourne, and that most buyers are now motivated by cost-of-living savings rather than climate concerns.
Why it matters: The Iran conflict-driven fuel price spike has accelerated a structural shift: Australian buyers in outer suburban commuter hubs like Tarneit are now choosing EVs primarily as a cost-of-living hedge rather than a climate statement. Pickles' battery data — 93% retention at five years, 89% past 230,000km — directly contradicts decade-old depreciation fears, meaning insurers and auction houses must recalibrate valuations while the early-EV residual discount has effectively disappeared.
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