The electric vehicle segment in India has been fast-evolving. In the past few years, we saw many new EVs launching here, belonging to different segments and price points. The elephant in the room that’s stopping more people from buying them, effectively slowing their rate of adoption, is the poor resale value of electric vehicles. EVs depreciate faster than you’d probably imagine them to. Here are three telling examples!
The first example is that of a BYD Seal Premium variant, which has an asking price of Rs 42 lakh. The ad mentions it to be a ‘2024-manufactured, 2025-registered model’. The Seal’s Premium variant has an ex-showroom price of Rs 45.70 lakh. The on-road price in Bengaluru/Mangalore (this car is from Udupi), is Rs 53.02 lakh. The value has thus fallen by Rs 11.02 lakh (20%) in just one year, and that too the first year!
Another ad shows a pre-owned 2023 Kia EV6 from Bengaluru, with an asking price of Rs 41.50 lakh. This is the pre-facelift model that was on sale till early 2025. The listing further mentions it to be the top-of-the-line GT Line AWD variant, which back then, had an ex-showroom price of 65.9 lakh. The on-road price was around Rs 76.67 lakh in Bengaluru. This EV has lost 45% of its value (approximately 35.1 lakh rupees) in just two years! It has just around 8,500 km on its odometer!
An ad posted on Team BHP lists a 2022 Audi E-Tron 55 electric SUV for sale in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The asking price is Rs 70 lakh. The e-SUV has just 4000 km on its odometer. Back in the day, the E-Tron 55 used to come in two different body styles- the SUV and the Sportback. The one seen here is the SUV, which had an ex-showroom price of Rs 1.27 crores then. The on-road prices would have been higher- somewhere in the ballpark of 1.30 Crores.
The value of this electric (luxury) SUV has fallen by at least 45%! Its current asking price is Rs 57-60 lakh less than the original ex-showroom price. This drastic drop happened in just three years! Audi discontinued the E-Tron series in 2024, and this should have contributed fairly well to this drop on its resale value. There are, however, more serious reasons, which we will discuss later in this article.
Tata Motors continues to be the leader in India's EV space. Mahindra is now another major player in the segment. Both now have long lineups of all-electric models on sale. Interestingly, Indian EV models are slightly better in terms of resale value. The Nexon EV is a good example. It is an extremely popular choice among EV buyers.
This Nexon EV Empowered Plus LR from Kerala's Calicut has an asking price of Rs 14.90 lakh on OLX. The on-road price in Calicut is Rs 21.9 lakh- a depreciation of Rs 7 lakh (roughly 31% of total vehicle value) in a year. This unit, however, has run around 27,000 km so far. The depreciation here is lower than those in the previous cases but still quite high.
Let's now look at one of the most affordable electric cars sold in India - the Tata Tiago.EV. Available in both medium range and long range trims, the Tiago.EV is a hatchback quite popular among entry level EV buyers. Here's an example for sale from Salem, Tamilnadu.
It's less than 2 years old with 39,000 Kms on the odometer, and is the top end XZ Plus model. The asking price is Rs. 7 lakh, which makes it about Rs. 5 lakh cheaper than the new version, which retails at 11.86 lakh, on-road Salem. The 7 lakh asking price for the used Tiago.EV represents a little over 40 % depreciation, and this is before negotiation. If the buyer negotiates, and gets another 40,000-50,000 off, the depreciation would hit over 45 %, which is quite high for a 2 year old car.
It thus feels safe to conclude that Indian EVs have slightly better resale values than the ones from foreign manufacturers, especially the luxury and more expensive ones. However, overall resale value of EVs are a big concern, and this is a key factor that makes or breaks buying decisions in case of new EV buyers.
You’d notice that the EVs in the above cases are all still ‘new’. ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles with under 10,000 km on the odometer hold high respect in the pre-owned market. So, why do these EVs command such low resale prices? Let’s look at the possible reasons...
Though many may hesitate to admit it, electric vehicles aren’t as practical as regular petrol or diesel cars in most cases. Many continue to have them as their ‘second cars’. This, in a way, limits their demand in the pre-owned car market. Slowed-down demand leads to low resale prices as well.
Adding to this are the general apprehensions about charging infrastructure and charging schedules, among new adopters. Yes, the infrastructure has been rapidly developing in many cities. It hasn’t, however, reached a level that would instill confidence in new adopters.
Remember a Windsor EV owner sharing his woeful experience with the current charging infrastructure? We even saw electric vehicles running out of charge and being towed by conventional SUVs like Fortuner. All these hint at the voids that continue to exist in our current charging infrastructure.
The battery pack is another major factor pushing used car buyers away from EVs. The most important component of any electric vehicle is its battery pack. Replacements often cost 30-40 percent of the vehicle’s price. Fears about these costs lead to a further drop in resale prices. This is, in fact, a global trend.
There is, however, no standard measure to independently evaluate the health of an EV battery. People usually rely on data indicated by vehicle software for this. Apprehensions about battery health often deter people from buying used EVs. We can’t really blame them for this concern, as the actual battery health depends a lot on the EV’s previous usage. EVs need to be driven in a certain way to stay healthy. Improper charging cycles or ‘wrong usage’ can almost ‘destroy’ batteries!
The State of Health (SoH) of the battery pack is directly linked to the EV’s real range and performance. On a brand-new vehicle, it will be 100%. Charging patterns, age, and driver behaviour can all affect the SoH. A yearly drop of 2% is acceptable in most cases.
The afterlife of electric vehicles (specifically their battery packs) is still a work in progress. Time remains before we see functional second-life EV battery management systems and recycling stations here. At least the early adopters of these will have to face poor resale and consider them as ‘use and throw’ vehicles! The resale value may improve in the coming years, if the demand for electric vehicles sustains or increases...
Another reason for the terrifying drop in resale value is the tech-driven, gadget-like nature and futuristic appeal of EVs. Electric vehicles are ‘always’ the most appealing when new! The space itself is fast-evolving, with new, better-kitted models rolling out at frequent intervals. Even existing models get updated regularly.
Many newer EVs also come with significant improvements in range and performance. Each of these launches leaves the predecessors and at least some of its rivals obsolete. Investing in a pre-owned (and obsolete) EV thus makes little sense to many. Even here, ‘being obsolete’ is one big reason for the terrific drops in the EV6 and E-Tron resale prices.
EV resale prices are expected to improve organically as the market opens up further. EV penetration is expected to increase further in the coming years. Introducing buyback schemes can help to some extent.
MG now has such a scheme available, which promises 60% buyback guarantee for the first three years. As the charging infrastructure improves, more people will become confident in making the switch to EVs.
This will also improve their prices in the pre-owned market. The government could possibly help here by ensuring healthy infrastructure development.