With the residual price of electric vehicles softening recently, due to supply constraints improving for new EV production as well as ongoing concerns about the state of health of on-board batteries, industry leaders and policymakers may need to intervene to reassure motorists that used EVs are worth buying. Without this, the pace of the transition to EVs could start to slow, undermining progress to net zero.

The price disparity that exists between battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and their fossil fuel-powered counterparts means that the former are likely to depreciate more quickly, simply because they are more expensive to start with. As the battery unit can account for as much as half of the overall cost of a new BEV, any degradation it may have suffered at the hands of a previous owner is likely to have a significant impact on its residual value.

Waiting lists for new BEVs have dwindled as factories catch up with the rapid increase in demand, and buyers...