Model Y standard range for UK - will it happen

[pdk42]

I ended up going with a salary sacrifice finance package when I got my Y in Dec, but I got very close to buying a used Y. Some of the used prices were astonishing (as a buyer). I saw a 6 month old MYP with 5k miles on it going on a private sale for £45k. New it was coming at a shade under £64k. Losing £19k in 6 months and 5000 miles is just too painful to think about. And there were lots of LRs at about 12 months old with 10-15k on the clock at around the £40k mark.

The Y replaced a 3 that I bought for cash in 2019 and for a while I thought that was a wise move. But by the time I sold it (private sale), the price I got meant that I saved nothing over a lease. So, I'm quite happy I went the leasing route this time (esp with the salary sacrifice savings); but for my next car, I'll likely have finally retired so I'll probably get a 2 year old used car. And I'm no longer sure it'll be an EV.

 

[pdk42]

A really good point and one that's creating an interesting dynamic for all brand new EV sales for the year ahead. With no Govt subsidy for private EV purchases anymore, but still good benefits via company cars, we seen that almost 80% of all EV's bought in the UK last year where via company car type purchases, with only 20% ish of purchases from private buyers. That's heavily distorted from what we typically see across all car types, which is ball park 50/50 private purchases/company purchases in the wider UK market.

Like you mention, the above will only add to the issue you've already mentioned. Over on Pistonheads forum for example, people are snapping up cheap Audi e-trons due to the low prices. So that 20% of private buyers buying EV's, is that very low because they are all buying used instead, or just because they don't like EV's as much unless their is an incentive? I'm not sure but its going to be hard to bring ICE to EV converts into a new EV, when the used ones are going for such low prices. Minis, Corsas, Mazda 30's, Leafs and Zoes are cheap as chips on the used market, even fairly new and low miles and then at the mid range, you've got Tesla, Etrons, iPaces etc going for competitive prices and at the top end, Taycans are selling cheap (relatively) as well

So how do you sell a punter a brand new EV when the used ones are so competitively priced? I'm not a new EV buyer but if I was, it would be really difficult man maths to buy a new one when there are so many great value used ones to buy.

Totally agree with that analysis. And the low price of used EVs is being driven by general reluctance of private buyers to go that route. It's not helped by endless media stories of lack of EV charging, battery degradation, lithium mining environmental damage, etc etc.

I suspect the government will likely accelerate the removal of fleet EV incentives too, so I think the price pressure on the EV manufacturers will only continue to be downwards (and that's ignoring the upcoming flood of cheap Chinese EVs dumped into European markets).