The market for used EVs ‘is so hot’ right now — SkimNews
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- Used EV sales jumped 7.7% from June and 10.1% year-over-year in July, according to Cox Automotive, while new EVs grew only 3.2% month-over-month and fell 41.5% versus 2025.
- Scott Case, CEO of Recurrent, called the used EV market "uniquely the beneficiary of the war," attributing the surge to climbing gas prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
- New EVs cost $6,477 more than their internal-combustion counterparts on average, while the used EV-to-gas price gap is just $2,967, making secondhand models far more accessible.
- Tesla's Model Y remains the best-selling new EV even as Stellantis has pulled back dramatically from the technology and Japanese models "have been coming in like a freight train," Case said.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repealed $7,500 new and $4,000 used EV tax credits last fall — yet used EV sales have grown 10% year-over-year since, "defying expectation," per Case.
- North American EV sales are down 18% year-to-date, a stark contrast to Europe's 28% gain, with the International Energy Agency reporting record Q2 sales in 50 countries.
Why it matters: For cash-strapped buyers, the $2,967 used-EV-to-gas price gap plus Iran-war-driven fuel costs is rewriting the affordability calculus — dealers are capturing the demand that federal tax credits used to stimulate, while new-EV automakers watch sales fall 41.5%.
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