Which electric cars hold their value?

EVs depreciate faster than gas cars — 57.2% over five years on average, vs 41.8% overall. But the spread between the best and worst is enormous, and it's the single biggest factor in your total cost of ownership.

All figures below are from iSeeCars' "Cars That Hold Their Value" study (March 2026): over 950,000 five-year-old used cars sold March 2025–February 2026, MSRPs inflation-adjusted to 2026 dollars.

Hold their value best

Model	5-year depreciation	Dollars lost
Tesla Model 3	54.6%	$20,213
Porsche Taycan	54.7%	$54,403
Hyundai Kona Electric	56.5%	$18,581
Kia Niro EV	57.3%	$22,742
Tesla Model Y	57.8%	$26,020

Lose value fastest

Model	5-year depreciation	Dollars lost
Nissan Leaf	63.1%	$17,743
Volkswagen ID.4	62.1%	$28,010
Tesla Model S	62.0%	$58,907
Tesla Model X	61.2%	$61,216
Ford Mustang Mach-E	60.8%	$22,976

What this means for you

Buying new? Depreciation is your biggest cost — bigger than fuel, insurance, or maintenance. A Model 3 losing 54.6% vs a Leaf losing 63.1% is thousands of dollars apart over five years, even before you factor in the purchase price.

Buying used? Flip it around: the fastest depreciators are the best used deals. A 5-year-old Leaf has already lost nearly two-thirds of its value — you're buying the depreciation curve's flat tail. That's exactly why our used EVs under $10K page exists.

The trend is improving. The 57.2% EV average is down from 58.8% in iSeeCars' 2025 study — depreciation is stabilizing as the used-EV market matures (Autoblog, March 2026).

Why EVs depreciate faster

• New-car price cuts. When Tesla or Hyundai cuts MSRP by $5,000+, every used example reprices overnight. See our price-drop tracker.
• Battery anxiety. Buyers discount older EVs for degradation risk — fair for air-cooled Leafs, less fair for liquid-cooled packs with 8-year warranties.
• Tech turnover. Range and charging speed improve fast; a 2019 EV feels dated next to a 2026 one in a way a 2019 Camry doesn't.
• Tax credit hangover. Years of $7,500 credits pulled new prices down, dragging used values with them. The credit's end may actually stabilize residuals.

Questions, answered

Do EVs hold their value worse than gas cars?

Yes — 57.2% five-year depreciation vs 41.8% overall (iSeeCars, March 2026). But the gap is narrowing, and the fastest depreciators become the best used-car deals.

Which EV depreciates the least?

The Tesla Model 3 at 54.6% over five years — still above the all-vehicle average, but the best in the EV segment by the iSeeCars data.

Is high depreciation good for used buyers?

Absolutely — it's the entire thesis of the used-EV market. A Nissan Leaf that lost 63.1% in five years is a $7,000 car with years of cheap commuting left, provided the battery checks out.

Depreciation data: iSeeCars "Cars That Hold Their Value" study, March 2026 (950,000+ vehicles). Updated October 2026.