A Plug-in Hybrid and Two Electrics Are America's Fastest-Selling Used Cars

Electrified transportation isn’t catching fire in the new vehicle market, but sales are positively scorching at used car lots.

The top three fastest-selling one- to three-year-old vehicles in the U.S. today aren’t pickups or SUVs, but a low-volume plug-in hybrid and two EVs, according to automotive data and research company iSeeCars.com.

Between January and May of this year, newer used vehicles took an average of 42.4 days to sell, but the Toyota Prius Plug-in slashed that number by more than half, selling in an average of 9.7 days. The Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S took second and third place with 24.3 and 26.1 days, respectively.

Statistics from 2.2 million used car sales went into the study.

So, while buyers aren’t too keen on new electrics, put some miles on the odometer, roll forward the calendar, and those same models suddenly become superstars. What gives?

The answer has a lot to do with buyer’s wallets — after all, the lower price of a used vehicle can be hard to resist — but some of the demand can be chalked up to regional policies. How else can you explain the Prius Plug-in’s selling time shrinking by nearly half since last year?

According to iSeeCars.com CEO Phong Ly, “The dramatic decrease in days on the market is at least partially due to the fact that 54 percent of these cars were sold in California and the distribution of the stickers that allow plug-in hybrids to be used in California’s HOV carpool lanes with a single occupant has reached its limit, pushing up demand for used cars that already have this privilege.”

The Nissan Leaf’s popularity on the used market can be blamed on good ol’ depreciation. Used Leaf prices dropped $2,219 this year, putting the average price of Nissan’s venerable EV at $12,533. That’s cheap for any newer used vehicle.

With a brand like Tesla, older models possess the same near-mythological status as new ones (and until recently, there were no design changes to distinguish between the two), so why spend more than you need to? The price of used versions of the Model S fell 17 percent between this year and last, giving many buyers a good reason to avoid handing Elon Musk their hard-earned cash.

When it comes to depreciation, electric vehicles are the polar opposite of, say, the Jeep Wrangler. The average price for all models in the EV market fell 15.2 percent in 2016, with plug-in hybrids falling 5.1 percent.

Other models on the top 10 fastest-selling used car list were more conventional. The Hyundai Veloster Turbo ranked fourth, followed by the Infiniti QX60 (5th) and QX56 (6th), Lexus CT 200h (7th), Toyota Highlander Hybrid (8th), Lexus RX 350 (9th) and Mazda2 (10th).

[Image: Toyota Motor Corporation]