Ever wondered what the depreciation or resale value of an electric vehicle looks like? This is the question a lot of buyers ask when they’re looking to buy their first EV.
It’s a bit of an art form to figure out the value of an electric car in the future. If it’s a Tesla, you might be able to see cars that are several years old on a classifieds site, but that’s not really an accurate indication because that’s the advertised price, not the sale price.
However, there is a way to know with some reasonable guarantee what you will get back for your car after a few years, and that is to choose a guaranteed future value program from a variety of manufacturers. offer this program.
For the purposes of this test, I have chosen a four-year term, covering 15,000 km a year (60,000 km in total) and no personal finance deposit required as a Brisbane buyer looking to purchase a electric SUV. I used financing and a guaranteed future value offer from the car company’s own website.
What quickly becomes clear is that buying an electric car is one thing, trying to get a guaranteed fair value in the future is another.
What is even more surprising, however, is the difference in future value guarantees between established brands like Mazda and Mercedes-Benz versus an upstart like Chinese brand Polestar when it comes to tram.
Let us put some numbers in perspective. If we take the new Polestar 3, a standard model costs $146,806.85 on the road for people like me who live in Brisbane in the brand’s own configuration.
Choose the Long Range Dual Engine with Performance Package ($9000) with a good set of headlights ($3000, should really be standard) and skip the Extra Safety Pilot Package ($6000, again should be standard) and the driving price for the Brisbane Buyer is $162,471.85.
That’s a lot of money in general, but for a car made in China, where labor costs are significantly cheaper than European or Japanese brands? It’s definitely up there. Give Polestar the benefit of the doubt (who knows, it might be cool, and we haven’t driven it yet) and ignore the actual high price tag for a moment, you’ll risk guessing that its financial package Polestar itself now says the car will be worth four years and 60,000 km assuming you’ve kept it in excellent condition?
Guess $90,000? Are not. $80,000? No… Definitely $70,000? Are not. Okay, okay, $60,000? ARE NOT.
Polestar’s own website says the new Polestar 3 at $162,471.85 will be worth just $59,436.00 four years and 60,000 kilometers later. The brand says its car will only be worth 36.5% of its original value in a few short years and not many kilometers.
That’s a loss of $103,035.85 – or $25,758.96 in amortization per year. If you look at it from a per kilometer perspective, it will cost you $1.71 per kilometer to own, let alone recharge. Fuel can be expensive, but that depreciation is something else.
Is that the same for all electric cars? The answer is definitely not. How does Polestar compare to an electric Mazda MX-30?
It wasn’t a huge hit for the Japanese brand, which suggests it will have limited resale appeal due to very limited demand starting with the new product.
According to Mazda Australia’s website, a Brisbane buyer like me would expect to pay around $69,551 for an all-electric MX-30 on the road. After four years and 60,000 km, the brand will buy back its own car for $29,762. That’s a loss of $39,789 over four years, or $9947.25 per year.
Do the numbers per kilometer and that works out to just $0.66 cents. Suddenly, Mazda looks pretty attractive, but maybe that’s not the fairest comparison since the Polestar is a luxury car and the Mazda is the more mainstream.
Take a look at the ultimate king of luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz. For comparison, we’ve picked up a Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC that you can buy online right now for $130,868.28.
Applying the same formula over four years, 60,000 km, and no deposit, Mercedes-Benz will buy back its own car for $58,683.66 – or a very reliable 44.84 percent off the purchase price. initial.
Mercedes-Benz is so confident in its vehicles, it offers this 45% of guaranteed value on all SUVs we’ve had time to test if they’re diesel, petrol or pure electric. drug.
That’s a loss of $72,185 over four years or about $18,046 per year in the case of EQC. Do it on a per kilometer basis and work out $1.20/km.
We also did the test on a Lexus UX EV with a driving price of $87,594 in Brisbane. Based on the same four-year, 60,000-km conditions and no deposit required, Lexus will buy back the UX EV for $38,110 – a loss of $49,484 over four years, or $12,371 a year.
On a per kilometer basis, it works out to just 0.82 cents per kilometer. Not bad.
Let’s put all of that in one table:
| Tram | New price* | Future value 4 years/60,000km ** | Depreciation 4 years | Depreciation/km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pole star 3 | $162,471.85 | $59,436 | $103,035.85 | $1.71 |
| Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC | $130,868.28 | $58,683 | $72,185 | $1.20 |
| Lexus UX300e | $87,594 | $38,110 | $49,484 | $0.82 |
| Mazda MX-30 EV | $69,551 | $29,762 | $39,789 | $0.66 |
The point is, electric cars may be the future, but choosing the right brand can save you tens of thousands of dollars and a lot of heartache on resale.
Just like gasoline or diesel cars, not all electric vehicles have the same resale price. It is well worth it to do some research and do some research on the future resale value of your electric vehicle.
* New car prices based on Brisbane postcode 4000 and purchased separately
** Values presented by OEM’s own financial calculator are based on a four-year term, no deposit required and a total of 60,000 km
