Suggested Citation:
Chakraborty, Debapriya, Theodora Konstantinou, Julia Beatriz Gutierrez Lopez, Gil Tal (2026)

Brief: Understanding Today’s Used Car Buyers Can Help Grow the Market for Used Electric Vehicles

. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Brief UCD-ITS-RR-26-05

Abstract:

New car sales is the primary metric for measuring electric vehicle (EV) adoption, however, monitoring transition to EVs overall will require knowing more about what is going on in the used car market. While there is limited research on used EV buyers, examining the characteristics and vehicle costs of individuals who currently purchase used vehicles could provide some helpful insights. Our research team explored the financial impact of a household that typically purchases a used car, choosing a used EV instead. To do this, we analyzed consumer survey data that tracks households’ expenditure on vehicle purchasing and operations on a national scale to identify why households opt for new versus used vehicles and the consequent cost of vehicle ownership.