Aside from helping turn Tesla into the world’s most valuable carmaker, the Model 3 is also showing signs of being dominant on the used car market, even though it’s still early to draw a definitive line seen as how owners typically keep their cars for at least a few years.
Yet, based on a few small sample sizes courtesy of various car shopping websites, the data looks quite favorable for Tesla’s entry level sedan, reports Autonews Europe.
“If you’re looking for a used Audi A4, you have other comparable options like the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Lexus IS,” explains George Augustaitis, director of automotive industry and economic analysis at CarGurus. “If you’re looking for a Model 3, there’s no substitute.”
While that’s not going to be the case for long, he definitely has a point as far as used electric vehicles are concerned right now.
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Unlike early EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3, which depreciated even faster than conventional cars due to low demand and a limited driving range, the Model 3 has pretty much everything going in its favor, including the fact that battery degradation isn’t as big of a concern nowadays.
According to iSeeCars, between March and June this year, used Model 3s needed just 29.3 days on average in order to sell. That’s more than two times faster than the industry average. The graph also shows how successful the Model S and X have been among well established Japanese offerings. Also, make what you will of the BMW X6 being so in-demand on the used car market.
“Demand is outpacing the limited supply,” concluded Augustaitis about the Model 3. “Its range and tech and price point are still unique.”
Over the next decade or so, used EVs from VW, Polestar, Volvo and various other brands should give the Model 3 some competition and used car buyers more options to choose from.
