In a world where prices seem to be continuously rising and consumer confidence keeps falling as we tighten our financial belts, there is one area that has been consistently bucking the trend.
However, the electric vehicle landscape is still relatively new and can contain some unexplored territory. Among other The last year has seen the sales of secondhand electric vehicles double. What is behind this trend? Why are people so desperate to get their hands on a secondhand electric vehicle and will this trend continue?
A Booming Market
The used car market has seen a bit of a rollercoaster effect in the last year in general. Rising initially at the beginning of 2022 before falling in the third and fourth months. However, used car sales overall were a healthy 5.1% up on last year after the first quarter of the year.
This was obviously a great result for the automotive economy. However, the sales of secondhand electric vehicles absolutely dwarfed their conventionally fuelled cousins. Electric vehicles saw a stupendous 120.2% increase on 2021.
This is a hugely significant figure that shows how strong confidence in the electric vehicles industry is.
A Time Delay With Electric Vehicles
Anyone who follows electric vehicles bloggers and tweeters will be aware that there have been plenty of issues in the last few years that have affected the sales and, more specifically, the delivery of new electric vehicles.
Covid 19 for example pretty much shut down the world (not just car manufacturers) and had a major impact on waiting times. There were the orders already received that still had to be built, plus more people ordering electric vehicles through online click sales. The backlog would only continue to grow.
The Chips Are Down
By “chips” I am of course referring to the superconductor chips. These are components that are found in all modern cars, not just electric vehicles. And, as the sub-heading suggests, the availability of these chips are down. What some people don’t realise is exactly why.
As the pandemic shook the world, vehicle manufacturers stopped building vehicles and stopped ordering the superconductor chips needed for the vehicles. Which, on the face of it, does make sense. If you aren’t building your product, you stop buying the materials to build that product.
Unfortunately, the pandemic was a boom for electric gadgets. Phones, tablets and computers saw a huge surge in demand due to lockdowns around the world. Of course, these device manufacturers required more chips to fulfil their orders and they suddenly went to the top of the chip manufacturers priority list.
As the world started to return to normal, the constructors of electric vehicles went on a mission to ramp up production of their cars and vans to rid the backlog and to satisfy new customers. Unfortunately they did not have new chips coming in and they were also now at the back of the queue due to electric device manufacturers being the priority for chip makers. Car manufacturers really dropped the ball on this one. Although the decision to stop buying chips made short-term sense, it was the long-run effect that they hadn’t properly considered.
A Problem for Electric Vehicles in the East
With a lot of cars still to build and with more orders coming in, there was only one thing for the car manufacturers to do… buy more chips.
Unfortunately there was a new problem on the horizon as we entered 2022. One that was unexpected and one that would have a major impact on so many commodities associated with the automotive industry, including electric vehicles.
On the 24th of February the Russians invaded Ukraine and threw the world into chaos. Of course, some may be asking “how does this affect the car industry”? Well, as already stated, there is a shortage of microchips that is causing a lot of problems.
In order to make the microchips for cars you need high-phased lasers. These lasers, in turn, need high grade neon to do their task. Unfortunately, 90% of the world’s high grade neon (as well as other key components) is made in Ukraine. With the country under siege (which is still ongoing at the time of writing) not much of the required materials are getting out.
Electric Vehicles – They’re Just More Popular
An obvious point but one that needs to be made. Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular. This means that more people are ordering electric vehicles and therefore the waiting lists for new electric vehicles keeps getting longer. For some vehicles, if you were to order one today you would have to wait until 2025 for delivery.
This is great for lovers of electric vehicles, and great for lovers of green energy and environmental issues. It isn’t so great, however, for those who are desperate to get their hands on an electric vehicle.
All of these reasons support why secondhand electric vehicles have become so popular. People just can’t get hold of a brand new one. Hopefully the global issues will be sorted sooner rather than later. However, EV Sales are here to offer you the very best in secondhand electric vehicles. Secondhand doesn’t mean inferior. Especially not in the case of our electric vehicles.
New and used electric cars and vans
For those of you who are ready to buy a pure electric vehicle, you’ve come to the right place! We’re constantly adding new and used electric cars and vans to our stock list. At the moment, we have some fantastic brand new Vauxhall Vivaro-e vans. Plus, the all time favourite Tesla Model S!
You can find us in Strood, Kent but we do offer virtual viewings and offer UK delivery. For more information, don’t hesitate to contact us on 01634 914 063.
* All information correct as of 31/08/2022.
