The rapid growth of electric vehicles (EVs) is reshaping Australia’s automotive landscape, and with it comes a new set of considerations for auctioneers and valuers navigating the resale market. While EV uptake is accelerating, the secondary market remains comparatively immature, creating uncertainty around long-term value, price patterns, and consumer expectations.
Understanding the factors influencing EV resale is essential to producing credible valuations and supporting confident auction outcomes.
One of the most significant challenges is battery health. Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, where wear-and-tear indicators are familiar and well understood, battery degradation is highly variable and influenced by charging behaviour, environmental conditions, usage intensity, and manufacturer specifications. Access to reliable battery-state-of-health data is inconsistent across brands, and in many cases, auctioneers and valuers must rely on incomplete diagnostics or proprietary dealer tools. This complicates determinations of fair market value, particularly for older EVs where battery replacement costs may exceed a substantial proportion of the vehicle’s resale price.
Mileage also affects EVs differently. While high kilometres tend to depress value in ICE vehicles, EV buyers often focus more on fast-charging history, temperature exposure, and warranty status. The market is still forming benchmarks for what “high use” means in an EV context, and valuers need to interpret limited datasets to estimate depreciation curves with confidence.
Another emerging issue is technology obsolescence. EVs evolve quickly, and new models frequently offer significantly improved range, charging capability, and software features. This rapid innovation can accelerate depreciation of earlier variants, not because of mechanical decline but due to technological supersession. Features such as over-the-air updates can extend usability but also risk locking buyers into subscription-based functions, adding complexity to assessing real market value.
Infrastructure considerations also influence demand and therefore resale. Buyers in regions with limited fast-charging access may discount EVs more heavily, and perceptions about battery safety, repairability and insurance costs can further suppress bids at auction. Damage to battery packs, particularly from underbody strikes, can render a vehicle uneconomical to repair, meaning condition assessments must be more detailed than traditional visual checks.
For auctioneers and valuers, the key is developing familiarity with EV-specific diagnostics, gaining an understanding of manufacturer warranties, and monitoring emerging resale trends as the market matures. As EV adoption grows, so too will the need for consistent, transparent, and evidence-based valuation practices that reflect the unique dynamics of this rapidly evolving asset class.
This issue will be explored in detail during the 2025 AVAA Auctioneers and Valuers Symposium – Sydney on 27 November 2025. The session Electric Electric Vehicle Valuation Risks & Realities offers industry expert analysis on the key issues for auctioneers and valuers.
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