Electric cars lose 30 percent of value after one year, NADA says

The dealer assocation said values for EVs and plug-in hybrids are dropping twice as fast as those of standard hybrids and gasoline-powered vehicles.

If you’re looking to sell or trade in a used plug-in hybrid or electric car, prepare to take a major hit on depreciation.

According to a report from the National Association of Automobile Dealers, plug-in vehicles perform considerably worse at resale than regular hybrids or gasoline-powered cars do.

In 2012, NADA estimated that all plug-in vehicles lost nearly a third of their value in one year (the average depreciation was 31.5 percent). By comparison, similar regular hybrids like the Toyota Prius and gas-powered cars such as the Honda Civic saw significantly lower depreciation rates of 14.0 percent and 12.4, respectively – or less than half that of pricier plug-in hybrids and electric cars. 

NADA predicted that the depreciation rate of plug-in EVs will improve only slightly over the next two years -- down to 29.7 percent in 2013 and 27.4 percent in 2014. But the organization said in the report that it expects “used plug-in EV depreciation to continue to outpace the overall market’s rate of loss by a significant margin in the coming years."

Significant hurdles, especially for all-electric cars, have contributed bigger losses. Limited range, few nationwide public charging stations and imperfect battery technologies that cut the vehicle's total range over time all stand in the way.

autos.msn.com