Used Electric Vehicle Resale Values Rise in Australia

Used electric vehicles in Australia are maintaining higher resale values than previously anticipated, driven by a shift in consumer behavior toward cost-of-living savings. Rising fuel costs, linked to geopolitical conflicts involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, have pushed commuters to seek lower running costs over climate-driven motivations.

Pickles, an asset sales company, reported a bidding frenzy during a March auction of 40 repairable BYD vehicles, where repairable write-offs generated a 71% price premium over petrol equivalents. The company noted that thousands of buyers attempted to bid on the limited stock. This demand is supported by battery longevity data from Pickles, which found that five-year-old batteries typically retain 93% of their charge capacity.

Market data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries indicates that EV sales surpassed petrol-only car sales in September, aided by an influx of affordable Chinese brands. Turo Australia also reported that bookings for electric and hybrid vehicles are growing 28 times faster than those for petrol and diesel cars. Despite this growth, the Electric Vehicle Council warns that charging infrastructure is currently lagging behind the surging demand.