Affordable Used EVs Flood US Market as Lease Bubble Pops

A surge of used electric vehicles from expired early-2020s leases is flooding the US market, driving first-quarter sales up 12% while collapsing prices by 8.5% year-over-year. The affordable inventory has narrowed the price gap between used EVs and gas-powered vehicles from $4,923 to just $1,334, positioning EVs as an economically compelling alternative as petrol prices rise. This used-market momentum contrasts sharply with new EV sales, which plummeted 28% following the Trump administration's withdrawal of federal tax credits, suggesting a potential democratization of EV ownership through the secondary market.