Drivers who drive these best-selling cars being handed £1,600 each

James Rodger
·2-min read
Drivers who drive these best-selling cars being handed £1,600 each
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Drivers can save £1,600 a year with second-hand electric cars amid demands to retain strict EV rules. According to new data from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), best-selling used electric vehicles can help save motorists £1,600 a year.

This analysis also found that the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate – which requires car manufacturers to sell an increasing proportion of cars that are electric, and was introduced by the previous Government on 1 January 2024 – is set to help save second-hand EV buyers billions of pounds on their driving bills.

Che new EVs sold in the first year of the mandate could collectively save drivers who go on to buy them second-hand up to £6bn over their remaining 10 year lifespan. New EVs sold under the mandate could collectively save drivers who go on to buy them second-hand approaching £40bn by 2035, based on current policies and projected energy costs. These second-hand savings have the potential to reach hundreds of billions of pounds by 2048, when the last of the EVs sold under the mandate will likely be scrapped.

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Commenting on the analysis, Colin Walker, transport analyst at ECIU, said: “Increasing numbers of regular families are now trading in for an EV on the second-hand market, taking advantage of the hundreds of pounds of savings they can generate every year, and turning their backs on paying the ‘petrol premium’ of their old car.

“The previous Government’s ZEV mandate policy is working, with manufacturers discounting their EVs as they compete for sales to hit their targets. As prices are driven down, sales are going up. The increasing number of new EVs being sold today will hit the used market in around three to four years’ time, opening up the opportunity for cheaper and cleaner electric driving to a majority of people, as most people buy their cars second-hand.

“Any slowdown in the roll out of EVs under the ZEV mandate could cost British drivers millions, if not billions, of pounds in extra driving costs in the coming years.”

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