Residuals and resales addressed

And so it was no surprise to hear our guide at the iMiEV test herself asking questions about the resale values of electric cars.

Apparently CAP (the UK firm who provide used vehicle valuation data) were unsure about how they were going to value EVs due to unresolved questions of ownership. These questions have arisen due to the (initially) very high costs of buying EVs outright, and manufacturers attempts to bring down these costs by leasing out the expensive batteries for these cars.

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If your manufacturer continues to own a part of your car, how can you sell it on? This is the question CAP have been unable to answer.

Clearly the EV market is a young one and as such there are teething issues all round. Related news from the States however suggests that resale values for EV cars will be high.

The Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) uses petrol prices to help determine resale values, and its basic principle is that, the higher the fuel cost, the lower the resale values of gas-guzzling vehicles.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE RESALE VALUES

And with fuel prices in the UK at least at an all-time high, the rule as here applied means that the more fuel efficient your car, the higher the resale value. This is good news for hybrid and eco-diesel owners looking to trade their car in the future.

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It's also a big carrot for potential EV owner. With running costs for the Leaf (for example) coming in at around £150 for 12,000 miles. Residual values therefore could well be very good.

Add this to tax and parking concessions offered by ever more aware governments and the EV is looking like a gamble that might well be worth taking in an age of austerity.

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