ABM Q4 - Flipbook - Page 15
OPINION
EV
Moving to the used
car forecourt
→ Toby Poston is chief executive at the BVRLA
F
or much of the transition to EVs,
attention has been fixed on the
new car market. Targets are
set against new registrations,
incentives have focused on new
vehicles, and the company car
and leasing sectors have done
much of the heavy lifting.
We are now seeing vehicles
completing their first lease or company
car cycle in increasing volumes. Battery
electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for
23.4% of new car registrations in 2025
and that share rose to 25.6% in the
first eight months of this year. The vast
majority of those cars will enter the used
market to find their second, third and
fourth owners.
Selling a used EV is not the same as
selling a new one or a used ICE model.
The customers buying these vehicles
will be different. So will many of the
businesses selling them. Independent
dealers are a fundamental part of the
used car market, and essential to the EV
transition. We need them to want these
vehicles on their forecourts.
That is easier said than done. Electric
cars introduce new questions for a
dealer: valuations, days to sell, longterm reliability, real-world performance
and the intricacies of charging. Some
are fundamental to the business model,
others impact how informed a customer
can be. None are unreasonable.
A franchised dealer has the benefit
of manufacturer training and support.
An independent business dealing with
dozens of different makes and models
does not necessarily have the same
resource.
We talk a lot about consumer
confidence in used EVs, but it doesn’t
just appear. It is shaped and influenced
by the people consumers speak to
when they are choosing their next car.
A dealer who understands the product
can have a very different conversation.
They can explain real-world range rather
than quote a laboratory figure, talk
knowledgeably about charging, batteries
and running costs. Just as importantly,
they can understand whether an EV
actually suits that particular customer.
Building confidence does not mean
convincing everybody. It means giving
people accurate information so they can
make that decision for themselves.
Retail ready
The BVRLA, Independent Motor Dealers
Association (IMDA) and EVA England
have developed EV Retail Ready. The
programme is free to independent
dealers and covers commercial viability,
energy and charging, in-life costs and the
customer journey. It can be completed
online, at the dealer's own pace, in
around two hours.
BVRLA members have been among
the biggest buyers of new EVs. They have
driven demand and created the flow of
EVs into the second-hand market. Their
interest does not end when those vehicles
reach the end of their first contract.
A healthy new EV market needs
a healthy used market behind it. If
dealers are reluctant, or customers lack
confidence, values come under pressure.
That feeds back into residual values and
affects the economics of putting new EVs
onto fleets in the first place.
The new and used markets cannot be
treated as separate problems. There are
encouraging signs of growing demand
for second-hand electric cars, but this
remains a relatively young market. We
should expect knowledge, processes
and customer expectations to continue
developing with it.
Independent dealers will be having
thousands of conversations with
motorists about whether their next
car should be electric. Giving them the
knowledge to be informed, practical and
confident is not a peripheral part of the
EV transition. Increasingly, it is where the
transition happens.
Q4 2026
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
15
