Rising used EV values and strong hatchback demand lower fleet disposal risks

THE robust used car market continued through June, reports Cazana, providing significant equity opportunities plus risk mitigation for the corporate fleet and leasing sectors.

The three-year-old car market successfully weathered seasonal consumer distractions, pushing average retail values up by 0.2% (approximately £50).

While macro-environmental factors, such as hot weather and the World Cup attention can suppress footfall, the used car sector demonstrated noted strength. Wholesale trade values softened only slightly over the month, providing a highly stable environment for fleet operators managing asset disposals and contract-hire risk.

For the third month running, EVs emerged as the dominant growth story in the retail world, injecting vital structural confidence into fleet risk profiles. At the critical three-year defleet benchmark, they rose by an impressive 2% in June, compounding a near 5% price surge over the last 90 days. An aggressive pace of forecourt transactions supports this valuation growth.

“The data provides vital structural confidence for managers managing defleet timelines. Currently, fleet managers can confidently cycle out ageing EVs without fear of the residual-value cliffs that plagued previous cycles.”

Derren Martin, Automotive Expert at Cazana Tweet

EV models are selling rapidly, with the Hyundai Kona, Tesla Model 3, and Volkswagen ID.3 all averaging a swift 15 to 16 days to sell. And interestingly, diesel vehicles logged a surprising 0.5% retail value increase, while petrol and hybrid vehicle pricing stayed relatively level.

Hatchbacks are hot

Cazana’s daily tracked data across more than 12,000 sources revealed some key trends in core corporate stock, including: while 3-year-old stock remained buoyant, nearly new 1-year-old retail values felt minor pressure, dropping by approximately 1% (c. £ 300).

Hatchbacks led all body styles with a 1% price rise. In contrast, corporate-heavy estates and saloons, which previously recorded massive 5% and 7% spikes over the spring, steadied, dropping by a minor 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. This minor pause indicates that a structural shortage of traditional executive silhouettes persists, allowing operators remarketing high-quality corporate shapes to continue commanding peak values.

Brands like Renault, Skoda, and Volvo established themselves as the month’s strongest, with tracking up around 1% alongside premium climber BMW. Three-year-old Volvos have increased their retail values by 7% over the last 3 months, marking a phenomenal U-turn from last year’s falling values. Land Rover (-2.3%) and Mercedes-Benz (-1.4%) registered as the weakest brand performers.

Derren added: “The data demonstrates that the market is hungry for electric vehicles, meaning well-maintained corporate defleet units are entering an environment where consumer demand is outstripping supply. Moving into the summer, there is little to suggest anything other than a continued, stable market, with EVs continuing to be popular.”