If you’re looking for a new EV, wait. You should wait until a lightly used EV comes up because in the first quarter of 2023, “slightly used” EV values dropped over 25% for certain electric choices. Specifically, Volkswagen, Audi, and Ford all saw significant price drops for their EVs.

Which EV saw the most decline in prices?

It’s not 2022 anymore. Then, used car prices were buoyed by the lack of available new cars, whether electric- or gas-powered. But those high prices collapsed in 2023. And according to iSeeCars, the EV with the worst price drop is the Audi e-Tron. 

Compared to a new e-Tron, a slightly used model dropped 27.8%, or $22,757. Look at that figure as a supreme discount for holding out for a super-low mileage e-Tron. A mildly-used e-Tron on average is selling for right at $59,000 in the first quarter. New 2023 prices start at $72,000, with an S-Line beginning at $74,000. 

How much has the VW ID.4 dropped in value?

Another big drop was found with the Volkswagen ID.4. It lost 20.4% of its value in Q1. That amounts to a loss of slightly more than $10,000. The transaction price dropped to right at $39,000.

Surprisingly, yet another EV with significant value loss is the hugely popular Ford Mustang Mach-E. It saw prices drop 21.1%, equivalent to a $13,430 drop in price. The average transaction price was $50,000. 

Why are used EV prices dropping?

iSeeCars says this is a case of the EV market normalizing. It found over 20 different EV models saw a 20% or more drop compared to new counterparts. Used car prices overall for 2023 Q1 are 8.1% lower than in 2022. Another interesting finding is that no EV is selling above MSRP. 

So, which vehicle is seeing the highest value? The Ford Maverick small pickup. On average, it sells over 12% over MSRP. Last year, Ford sold almost 75,000 Maverick trucks. But for Q4 alone, it sold 22,568. So Ford was already seeing a ramp-up in purchases at the end of the year. 

Are there 2023 models with higher transactions?

It sold virtually the same amount of Mavericks in 2023 Q1. If it is producing as many as it can, then 22,000 a quarter is not enough to satisfy demand. This leads to the used truck price being above MSRP by 12%. 

In spite of the Mustang Mach-E not holding its value, Ford is producing as many as it can. The same goes for the F-150 Lightning, the gas-powered F-150, and, apparently, the Maverick. So Ford is in a very good position in 2023 if it can just increase quality and lower recalls for the year. 

Last year there were five recalls issued for the Maverick. And already this year there is a recall for ‘inoperative trailer lights.” This is a result of a wiring circuit not being installed at the factory. So, as we said, Ford needs to slow down the recalls if it expects to maintain its current production pace.