by Jon LeSage
- There have been quite a few reports on used hybrid electric vehicle market – from Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book to Black Book.
- The marketing side is very strong for consumers and dealers, says John O’Dell, green car editor at Edmunds.com. There’s about 415,000 used hybrids on the market right now, mainly Toyota Prius models. More than 2 million have been sold since their launch in the US market about 12 years ago with Prius launch.
- More hybrids are becoming available as used cars offering consumers a wide range of options at competitive prices.
- Having the right mechanic inspect and service the car is critical, as the car uses some complex technology. Auto Career Development Center lists qualified hybrid repair shops.
- Hybrid electric vehicles are doing much better at retaining their used car values than are plug-in electric vehicles, according to the Blue Book Used-Car Market Report for May. Used electric vehicles are retaining nearly 55% of their original MSRP, while hybrids are much higher with retained average value at 74.3%.
- Kelley Blue Book expects the hybrid market to outperform the EVs for quite some time. The EV charging infrastructure is still in early stages and consumers are still getting used to the idea of trying out that new technology.
- Black Book also took a look at where hybrids have been going in value retention, and also found strong results for the segment – but pay careful attention for realistic forecasts for value retention for each hybrid model. “As this portion of the market has grown in both the number of players and the retention, acceptability of the hybrid models has improved,” said Ricky Beggs, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director of Black Book.
- “Closer projection variations will continue, along with more players being available. The level of gas prices, closer to current levels or reaching near the $5.00 level, will ultimately be the driver in the same level or more interest and actual retention,” Beggs said.
