By now, you’ve probably heard all about how EVs depreciate at a fairly rapid pace. iSeeCars published a study early this year reporting that the average value of an EV dropped by 31.8% since 2023, while the overall industry saw a value decline of just 3.6%.
Most drivers know better than to treat their car like an investment. Outside rare classics like your Shelby Cobras and ’67 Corvette Stingrays, for example, all cars lose value every single day until they’re ready for the scrapyard. But, it’s nice to have a little something for the trade-in when it’s time to buy a new car. If you’re ready to buy an EV, but you don’t want to feel too much sting on the resale, it’s worth knowing exactly how much value you’re using year after year.
Residual value and depreciation data for this list has been sourced primarily from used vehicle reports available on iSeeCars. Additional data has been sourced from Kelley Blue Book, where noted, and recall information has been sourced from the NHTSA.
10 BMW i4
Residual After Three Years: 46.8%
The BMW i4 brought up the rear for 2023’s top-selling EVs, and we’ll have to wait for the next end-of-year report to see if the car’s recent price bump knocks it out of the top ten. A three-year depreciation rate of 53.2% puts the residual value of a 2021 model at $24,689 in 2024. Long-term projections see the car retaining just 19.9% of its value after a decade, which would have it selling for $10,519 in 2031.
9 Tesla Model X
Residual Value After Three Years: 61.2%
Tesla announced price cuts for all available models early last year, only to reveal price increases in the summer of 2024, bumping the base Model X to $79,990. The good news is that the Model X is one of the few EVs left that qualifies for the full $7,500 tax credit, so it’s still one of the better deals in the segment, and the car’s above-average resale value should help to take the edge off the higher price. It’s expected to hold 39.3% of its value after five years, and 20.2% after ten, so the trade-in value peaks in that three-to-four year range.
8 Ford F-150 Lightning
Residual Value After Three Years: 57.1%
The Ford Lightning’s residual value estimate is fairly high for an EV, but it should be noted that no F-150 Lightning on the market has actually reached the three-year mark yet. The truck just went into production in April 2022, about two and a half years ago as of the time of this writing. The ICE-powered F-150, meanwhile, holds a residual value of 73.2% after three years, and an impressive 37.9% after ten, so the brand name recognition may help to boost the Lightning’s trade-in value for years to come.
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7 Rivian R1S
Residual Value After Three Years: 46.6%
The Rivian R1S has only been on the market for two years, so the three-year depreciation rate is based on used model projections. The R1S and R1T are among the safest vehicles on the road today, according to the IIHS, but reliability is still an unknown factor for such new vehicles. The 2024 R1S was hit with a recall for defective airbags in 1,723 models, and the 2023 model was recalled for issues with the backup lights, but complaints have been remarkably scarce, with the most concerning being one for buggy vehicle speed control and forward collision avoidance.
6 Hyundai Ioniq 5
Residual Value After Three Years: 53.2%
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 hit the market in 2021, so we’re just now seeing how much value the car holds after three years. It was included in a recall for 147,110 EVs for potential damage to the integrated charging control unit, which could see the 12-volt battery no longer receiving a charge as a result of damage. In this instance, the recall doesn’t seem to have hurt the car’s name value, as only 1% of recalled cars were actually affected by the issue.
5 Volkswagen ID.4
Residual Value After Three Years: 50.50%
Kelley Blue Book prices put an entry-level 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 in good condition at just over half its original asking price. The ID.4 has been hit with a few recalls and investigations that range from dangerous to simply embarrassing, and sometimes both, like a still-open NHTSA investigation into the doors opening on their own while the car is in motion. The 2024 ID.4 is not included in this investigation, so if it winds up having any effect on resale values, new ID.4 buyers may be in the clear when it comes time to trade them in.
4 Ford Mustang Mach-E
Residual Value After Three Years: 52.3%
Ford’s Mustang Mach-E sales slump was recently addressed with a discount, which saw sales numbers tripling over the course of a single month earlier this year. The price slash was relatively modest, cutting the MSRP down from $42,995 to $39,895, but it was apparently enough to convince many on-the-fence buyers to go ahead and bite the bullet. More popular cars tend to do a better job of holding their value over the years, so it’s reasonable to expect the Mach-E’s 52.3% three-year residual value to more or less hold steady into the foreseeable future.
3 Chevy Bolt EV
Residual Value After Three Years: 43.6%
Chevy’s Bolt EV is one of the most affordable electric cars on the market right now if you live in California, where $18,500 in potential incentives can potentially bring the price all the way down to just $8,000. These incentives include your usual $7,500 from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, plus $9,500 if you have an older ICE-powered car to trade in, and $1,500 from the Bureau of Automotive Repair’s Customer Assistance Program for retiring your old car.
Chevy made an odd decision to kill the Bolt off after a record-shattering sales year, so this isn’t a bad time to check the lots for stock they’re trying to get rid of. If you can negotiate a good deal and claim your incentives, this should improve your resale value as you can have the brand-new car for a few months’ rent if you live in California.
2 Tesla Model 3
Residual Value After Three Years: 60.9%
Tesla is a brand with a die-hard core fanbase, so all three Tesla models on this list sit comfortably in the 60% range for residual value after three years. The Model 3 has had a relatively uneventful year when it comes to recalls or any embarrassing hiccups that might affect sales, and the Long Range AWD model is currently eligible for the full $7,500 tax credit, so this car shouldn’t be losing momentum anytime soon, and that’s good news for your trade-in value later on down the line.
1 Tesla Model Y
Residual Value After Three Years: 58.5%
The Tesla Model Y was recalled last year for steering wheels literally falling off in the driver’s hands. The recall makes for terrifying headlines, but it only affected 137 units, so the car still managed to sell an incredible 394,497 units, making it the best-selling EV overall for 2023. Price reductions late last year certainly didn’t hurt the car’s momentum, either. The Model Y is expected to hold 41% of its value after five years, and 23.4% after a decade, which isn’t bad for an EV.
Sources:
iSeeCars
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NHTSA
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Kelley Blue Book