The vital role the remarketing sector is playing in the electric vehicle transition needs to be more widely recognised and supported if it is to succeed, says the Vehicle Remarketing Association.
Philip Nothard, VRA chair, said without an efficient and properly functioning EV service, logistics, storage and remarketing industry to support the volumes of electric cars and vans about to enter the used market, there would be massive volatility.
“We’re at an odd moment in the electrification process of the used market. Everyone talks about the issue all the time but the actual volumes remain very small. It’s kind of the phoney war before battle commences.
“However, that is going to change very quickly. New SMMT figures show that battery electric vehicles and hybrids of all kinds now account for more than a third of domestic production and at some point very soon, large numbers of electric company cars bought over the last couple of years will start to hit the used sector.
“We’re seeing the remarketing sector gear up very quickly to support this change. That means everything from logistics companies working out how to deliver EVs fully charged through to valuation experts pondering the impact of battery degradation on used values. Many of the questions arising don’t have simple answers.”