Electric cars reaching price parity, INDICATA white paper shows

Electric cars are starting to reach price parity with their ICE counterparts, according to a new white paper released by INDICATA.

Entitled ‘Reaching used BEV and ICE car price parity’ the white paper tracks the used retail car prices of all fuel types from 2020-2024.

This includes using INDICATA data to track used prices of five popular BEVs from Citroen, MG, Vauxhall, Peugeot and Hyundai against their equivalent ICE models during 2023 and 2024.

“Price parity is vital for BEVs in the used market as consumers are now being offered all the latest fuel types at similar prices, where before used BEVs were commanding a 25-30% price premium which put buyers off going electric,” explained Dean Merritt, INDICATA UK’s head of sales.

“Price parity is fuelling demand just as the volumes of used BEVs, particularly ex-fleet cars, are increasing which is good news for the entire industry. In some cases, used BEVs are now cheaper than their equivalent ICE models,” he added.

The INDICATA white paper shows prices of used BEVs peaking in Q3 2022 where demand and the chip shortage weakened supply. But then prices fell as OEMs pushed discounted new and nearly new used BEVs into the market which coincided with rising volumes of two and three-year ex-PCP, leasing and salary sacrifice BEVs. This caused prices to crash by over 30%.

In Q1 2024 there have been signs that used BEV prices have stabilised as prices fell by just 1.3% during the three-month period, which has helped close the gap between BEV and ICE prices as INDICATA’s data has revealed.

Peugeot 208 BEV v 208 petrol at two years and 20,000 miles

Peugeot 208 BEV and petrol models reached price parity in June 2023 at which point BEVs became worth more than equivalent petrol models. That is how it stayed until both fuel types reached price parity again in March 2024 at £14,250.

Vauxhall Corsa BEV v Corsa diesel at two years and 20,000 miles

From January 2023 the Corsa BEV was worth more than the equivalent diesel model by around £7,000. As of March 2024, the diesel Corsa was worth £16,000 and the Corsa BEV £15,250, which reflects how far market prices have moved on certain models in a brief time period.

MG ZS BEV v ZS petrol at two years and 20,000 miles

Electric ZS prices have been consistently ahead of used ZS petrol prices by around £1,250 since June 2023. This trend has continued into 2024 with the ZS BEV worth £15,000 compared with £13,750 for the petrol model.

Citroen C4 BEV v C4 diesel at two years and 20,000 miles

The Citroen C4 BEV reached price parity with its diesel equivalent in May 2023 at £17,400 but prices continued to fall. As of March 2024, BEVs were worth £14,200 against £16,200 for the diesel.

Hyundai Kona BEV v Kona petrol at two years and 20,000 miles

Hyundai’s strong zero emission reputation meant drivers paid more for used Kona BEVs during 2023. That trend continued into 2024, with Kona BEVs worth £19,700, £4,700 more than the equivalent petrol model.

“Some brands have already built up a strong BEV reputation and drivers are prepared to pay for them than ICE cars, but generally our data shows prices have moved much closer together. In the case of Peugeot 208 BEV and petrol models, prices were identical at the end of March 2024 while there was just a few hundred pounds difference between the Corsa BEV and diesel models at the same age and mileage,” said Merritt.