Wholesale used EV prices rose 13.7% in four months through June. Dealers at Manheim auctions bid up inventory, outpacing ICE vehicles.
Alpha Score of 51 reflects moderate overall profile with strong momentum, poor value, moderate quality, moderate sentiment.
The gasoline price spike that followed the start of the Iran war sent used-vehicle dealers scrambling at wholesale auctions. They bid up electric-vehicle inventory in March, April, May, and June, pushing wholesale EV prices up 13.7% over those four months, according to the Manheim Used Value Index. Manheim, a Cox Automotive subsidiary, is the largest auto-auction house in the U.S.
The index for used EVs rose 3.9% in March from February, 3.4% in April, another 3.9% in May, and 1.8% in June, reaching $31,156. Over the same period, wholesale prices for internal-combustion vehicles rose only 1.2%. Year-over-year, EV prices were up 13.6%. ICE prices gained 1.8%.
Dealers buy at auction to replenish or build inventories. Supply comes from rental fleets and finance companies selling off-lease vehicles and repossessions. Corporate and government fleets also contribute. When dealers saw the gasoline spike, they bid against each other, confident they could sell the EVs for more to retail customers.
The price gap is wide. The EV wholesale index at $31,156 was $11,855 higher than the ICE index at $19,301 in June, a 61% premium. Used EVs are still a small slice of the overall used-vehicle market, so the EV surge had only a minor effect on the broader Manheim index. The overall index dipped in May and June on a non-seasonally-adjusted basis and rose slightly on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The pattern echoes 2021-2022, when gasoline prices more than doubled and stories of "Tesla flipping" emerged. This time, more EV models and higher volume are passing through auctions. Dealers generally have a good sense of retail demand. They can end up with overpriced inventory if they misjudge the market.
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