A few thoughts from the Cox Automotive Q3 assessment. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

While new EV sales are growing—remember, this is from a small base, so the growth in total numbers is not all that impressive—used EV sales are really doing quite well, or so the numbers from Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of Industry Insights, Cox Automotive, who has a keen focus on EVs, indicate.

That is, year over year there is an increase of 64.4% for used EVs while new ones year-over-year it is up 12.6%.

In August there was a 90-day supply of new EVs. There was a 38-day supply for used EVs.

Still Pricey

One likely reason for the increased used EV sales is that the average transaction price in August was $35,937, compared with $56,574 for new EVs.

Realize that the now-used EVs probably had an ATP north of $56,574 when purchased new, so the buyer of a used EV is undoubtedly getting quite a well-loaded vehicle for the money.

I wonder whether a second used buyer will be all that interested in a vehicle, given concerns about battery longevity.

Leases Matter

In the new EV market leasing continues strong, Valdez Streaty noted. At 39% she says it is almost double the industry average. This probably has something to do with the ability to get IRA tax credits for EVs assembled in the U.S. And luxury vehicles, of which there are still plenty with EV powertrains, tend to have more leases than mainstream vehicles, so it makes sense to lease.

Overall Numbers

Looking at the powertrains in vehicles in August, ICE vehicles are at 81.6%, EVs at 8%, hybrids at 8.5% and PHEVs at 1.9%.

If you think about it, as OEMs began to pour money into EVs they subtracted from hybrids (e.g., the Ford Explorer had been offered with a hybrid, but the ’25 model doesn’t have one).

The company that didn’t pull back on hybrids—which actually continued to expand its offerings—is Toyota. Valez Streaty says that in Q2 2024 Toyota had 47% market share for hybrids—more than twice Honda’s second-place 20%.

Ford, it is worth noting, came in third at 14%, undoubtedly thanks to the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid model.

Hybrids are typically referred to as a “transitional technology.”

Seems that that transition is going to take a whole lot longer than those outside Toyota anticipated.