Used Electric Vehicles In Demand As CA Gas Prices Spike, Report Says

As gas prices rise, California drivers are increasingly gravitating toward used electric vehicles, according to a recent report published by The Mercury News.

Used EV data from Mobility Global showed a 20 percent growth forecast for 2026 over California’s 142,649 registrations in 2025, according to the report.

“We’re seeing higher demand on used EV cars. People want to get one from $25,000 to $29,000. That’s our sweet spot for used EVs,” McPeek’s Anaheim Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM General Manager Stewart Benjamin said in the report. “…Without question, the used EVs are not the easiest cars to come by. Everybody wants them.”

Tim Tipping, of Claremont, purchased a used 2023 Chevy Bolt last September in order to take advantage of a $4,000 federal tax credit for used EVs before it expired, according to the report.

“I always wanted an EV, and I didn’t think I could afford a brand new one,” Tipping said in the report, noting that he also recently bought four e-bikes to use with his family in response to the war in Iran.

A state rebate program called MyFirstEV launches later this summer and will include used EV buyers, offering a $1,750 instant rebate for first-time purchasers of a used EV selling at under $25,000, according to the report.

Cox Automotive’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, tracking vehicles sold at wholesale auctions to dealerships, put the average listing price of a used EV at $38,342 in June, up 7 percent year-over-year, according to the report.

Read the full report.