Blog Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt Among Top 10 Cars With Highest Depreciation

How about a great deal on a used electric car?

According to a recent 2018 depreciation study by iSeeCars, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF make the top ten list of cars with the highest depreciation. In fact, the LEAF sits at the top of the list with an average five-year depreciation of 71.7 percent. The Chevrolet Volt isn’t far behind, as it places in the two-spot, with a depreciation figure of 71.2 percent.

This information can be framed a number of ways. If you plan to buy a brand-new vehicle and keep it for about five years before you sell it or trade it in, these cars should probably be avoided. However, if you plan to buy an EV and keep it for a long time, then depreciation is less of an issue. Most importantly, this also means that you may be able to snag a used Chevrolet Volt or Nissan LEAF at a really fantastic price. As we’ve reported before, plug-in electric vehicles tend to spend less time on dealer lots than their ICE competitors.

Check out our sister site MYEV.com to search for a used EV or to sell your electric car:

MYEV.com is the first-to-market car shopping platform dedicated exclusively to the buying and selling of electric vehicles and offers intuitive tools that make finding the right EV simple, easy, and straightforward. MYEV stands to combat the lack of EV-specific search tools as EV ownership and adoption rates skyrocket globally. MYEV is 100% free for buyers and sellers and offers unique content to help shoppers overcome the most common concerns around EV ownership.

Here’s a look at iSeeCars’ up-to-date chart:

The publication’s study explains:

iSeeCars.com analyzed more than 4.3 million new and used car sales to identify models with the lowest and highest loss in value after five years.

“While the average new vehicle loses 50.2 percent of its value after five years, there are vehicles that retain more of their value and depreciate less than average,” said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “For consumers who buy new vehicles and sell them around the five-year mark, choosing a model that retains the most value is a smart economic decision.”

Source: iSeeCars

This article originally appeared on Inside EVs.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Not sure these depreciation amounts take into consideration rebates and tax credits that make the initial costs far lower than list price.

G/F bought a BMW i3 partially because She recieved over $20,000 in credits and rebates. $10,000 from Electric Company, $7,500 from Fed Tax Credit and $2,500 from California. In addition fuel is cheap, free use of local toll roads and single use on HOV lanes. Made it a great deal, but will come back to her when she sells.

 

[ewoodrick]

Not sure these depreciation amounts take into consideration rebates and tax credits that make the initial costs far lower than list price.

G/F bought a BMW i3 partially because She recieved over $20,000 in credits and rebates. $10,000 from Electric Company, $7,500 from Fed Tax Credit and $2,500 from California. In addition fuel is cheap, free use of local toll roads and single use on HOV lanes. Made it a great deal, but will come back to her when she sells.

They explicitly don't take the tax credits into consideration. It's is falsely devaluing the vehicles instead of talking about how good their resale actually is.