Why 2026 Will Be The Best Year Yet To Buy A Used EV

"Car-buying website Edmunds predicts a huge flood of lease turn-ins in 2026. That will include electric vehicles, many of which were leased during the tax credit era. Coupled with depreciation, this means that a giant supply of low-mileage EVs are hitting dealer lots, many with excellent range and outstanding features. Some people say that given recent trends, the auto industry bet wrong on electric vehicles. I see things differently. I think it bet wrong on high prices."

"New car prices skyrocketed to around $50,000 this year, and EV models went even higher, especially after the $7,500 federal tax credit vanished. You can blame a number of trends for this. Inflation is certainly one of them. But in general, automakers looked at the car-buying trends of the 2010swhen Americans kept going bigger and better and nicerand anticipated they too could keep going up and up forever. Today, with interest rates still high and amid persistent inflation, people feel differently about new car purchases."

"New data from the car-buying website Edmunds indicates that next year will see a surge in off-lease vehicles returning to the market. 'The sharp drop in leasing activity in 2022 left 2025 with unusually thin inventories of lower-mileage, near-new vehicles, limiting affordable choices for many shoppers,' Edmunds analysts said. If you want numbers around that, Edmunds estimates that around 400,000 more lease returns will return to the market in 2026."

An unusually large number of leased vehicles will return to the market in 2026, including many electric vehicles originally leased during the tax credit era. High new-car and EV pricing, amplified by inflation and the loss of the $7,500 federal tax credit, pushed buyers away from new purchases and reduced leasing in 2022, creating thin near-new inventories in 2025. Leasing recovered in 2023, producing heavier 2026 lease returns—Edmunds estimates about 400,000 additional off-lease vehicles. The influx of low-mileage, feature-rich EVs will expand affordable options, lower monthly payment pressures, and give price-sensitive consumers more flexibility.

Read at insideevs.com