According to recent used car pricing estimates, electric vehicle resale values are lagging behind conventional gasoline cars.
Kelley Blue Book is expecting a 2012 Nissan Leaf to be worth 20 percent of its new car list price after five years of ownership, compared to a Nissan Sentra which is expected to boast a used price in the low 30-percent range. The same also applies to the Chevrolet Volt, which Kelley Blue Book is expected to be worth 30 percent of its sticker price at the end of five years, while the Chevrolet Cruze is 38 percent.
Now there’s a catch – this doesn’t take into account the federal tax incentives of up to $7,500 to purchase a new electric car. Taking that into account, residual percentages for electric vehicles are comparable to standard gasoline cars, but of course that’s only because people spent less to purchase the car.
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[Source: Detroit Free Press]