A new study shows what vehicles buyers are trading in for used electric vehicles, including the Tesla Model 3, which is the most popular used EV in the US.
The top two vehicles tradded for the Model 3 might surprise you.
The study is coming from CarMax, which used it extensive used car data on its website to produce a look at used EV market.
One of the first important insights that came out of the study is the simple fact that searches for EVs on CarMax’s website doubled during the period covered by the study, which is up to February 2023:
This coincides with the surge in prices for new vehicles, including new EVs. It would make sense that more people turned to the used EV market.
The most popular EVs on the website are not really surprising since it matches new EVs that have been deployed over time in the US:
What might be more surprising are the vehicles that people are trading for the top used EVs.
CarMax found that the Honda Civic and the Toyota Tacoma are the two most popular vehicles being traded for a Tesla Model 3:
From September 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023, when shopping for the Tesla Model 3, the most common trade-in was a Honda Civic and the second most common was a Toyota Tacoma.
The former makes sense, but the latter, a full size pickup truck, is more surprising as a top trade for an electric sedan.
However, it is important to put things into perspective. Pickup trucks are so popular in the US that it makes sense that there would be amongst the top tradded vehicles for any model.
But it is still surprisingly that it would be in the top 2 for the Model 3.
SUVs are the most popular type of vehicles in the US and therefore, it is not surprising that it is also the most popular type of vehicles tradded for electric vehicles:
It’s also important to note that the used EV market is still quite young and inventory is still limited.
It should become a much more interesting market to dive into once there are more than a couple high-volume electric vehicles in the US market. Fortunately, that is coming very soon.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
