Used electric vehicles under $25,000 surge as new EV sales crash [View all]

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.”

Consider a Nissan Leaf, which travels about 150 miles on a charge and can power a house in a blackout. In the last three years, that vehicle has lost almost 70% of its value, and recently was selling for about $12,000. A Nissan Versa, a comparable gas-powered model, has retained more than 70% of its original price in the same period, selling for roughly $14,000.

There’s also evidence that electric vehicles — without radiators, spark plugs or oil — may prove to be more reliable over time than gas-powered machines. A January study from the University of Michigan found the total cost of owning a used electric vehicle is drastically lower than that of any other type of car, largely because of relatively low bills for fuel and upkeep.

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