Used EV sales surge 29.8 per cent in September as petrol and diesel values slide

Used EV sales climb again as overall market rises

Australia's used vehicle market recorded its third consecutive monthly sales increase in September 2026, with 258,127 vehicles sold nationally, up 6.0 per cent on August and 20.1 per cent higher than June. The figures come from new data from the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) and AutoGrab, reported by the Australasian Fleet Management Association. Within that growth, used EV sales reached 5,417 in September, up 29.8 per cent from August, lifting electric vehicles to 2.1 per cent of used vehicle sales, up from 1.5 per cent in July. Monthly used EV sales rose from 3,496 in July to 5,417 in September, and dealers accounted for 75.4 per cent of used EV transactions while private sales remained broadly flat. ²⁴³

The surge was first flagged by Daily Energy News, which reported the 29.8 per cent month-on-month jump and described it as evidence that consumer confidence in EV resale value is growing. The same underlying AADA and AutoGrab dataset was independently reported by AfMA, Yahoo News Australia and Autotalk, corroborating the headline figures of 5,417 September sales, a 2.1 per cent market share and 75.4 per cent dealer involvement. ¹²³⁴

Tighter stock is supporting the sales momentum. Active listings fell to 390,184 in September, down 7.7 per cent from August and 10.9 per cent below July's peak of 437,855, while the average time to sell edged up from 51.5 to 52.8 days. AutoGrab chief commercial officer Saxon Odgers said there were 66 sales for every 100 vehicles listed in September, up from 55 in July, meaning more vehicles were selling from a smaller pool of stock. Autotalk also recorded dealer share of used sales recovering to 43.9 per cent, from 40.9 per cent in August. ²⁴

The depreciation picture is mixed

The strength of the used EV segment sits against a more complicated value story. Yahoo News Australia notes AADA chief executive James Voortman has previously said retained values for used EVs remain below the broader SUV market and that the gap widens as vehicles age. AutoGrab data showed 2022-model EVs retained 53.3 per cent of their original recommended retail price in September, compared with 68.7 per cent for SUVs. The gap is much smaller for newer vehicles, with 2025-model EVs retaining 88.1 per cent of original value against 89.9 per cent for SUVs. ³

The Sydney Morning Herald's consumer affairs reporting adds that, as of September, the average 2020 hybrid had retained 81 per cent of its purchase value compared with just 40 per cent for a same-year EV. However, its AutoGrab data shows newer EVs defying their predecessors' reputation for steep depreciation: for 2024 builds, the depreciation differential is now just 8 per cent against a petrol model of the same year. AutoGrab chief revenue officer Ross Perry told the Herald the old rules about what holds its value were being tested car by car. ⁵⁷

Daily Energy News quotes Brendon Green, general manager of automotive solutions at auction house Pickles, saying written-off EVs sold for spare parts and second-life batteries achieved 16 per cent higher sale results than petrol equivalents, while repairable write-offs generated a 71 per cent price premium. Pickles has tested more than 2,750 used EV batteries and found five-year-old EVs tend to retain a battery life score of 93 per cent, with high-mileage former ride-share vehicles above 230,000 kilometres rated at about 89 per cent, according to HeadTopics' report on the Herald coverage. ¹⁷

EV converts are flooding the market with petrol and diesel cars

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that burgeoning EV uptake, spurred by cheaper new models and soaring fuel costs, has led converts to flood the second-hand market with used petrol and diesel cars, forcing sellers to cut asking prices. Used car listings swelled to a peak of 437,855 in July, about 98 per cent of them petrol, diesel or hybrid, and in that peak month 12.2 per cent more petrol and 16.8 per cent more diesel vehicles were listed than a year earlier. In the six months to the end of June, used petrol car sales fell just shy of 10 per cent and diesel 4 per cent, while used EV sales soared 54.6 per cent to 25,417. ⁵⁶

Petrol and diesel cars aged between one and five years depreciated by more than 8 per cent in the eight months to September, a loss the Herald says is about four times the total depreciation those vehicles suffered in all of 2025. Herald reporting also records that by June, 51.1 per cent of used cars under five years old sold with a discount, up more than 6 percentage points since January, with the average discount reaching 3.7 per cent. Voortman told the Herald it is a buyer's market that has presented good opportunities for used-car shoppers. ⁵

New-market momentum underpins the used shift

The used EV growth reflects what is happening upstream. AADA's review of September VFACTS and Electric Vehicle Council data shows battery electric vehicles outsold petrol and diesel vehicles for the second consecutive month, with 108,778 new vehicles sold in September and BEVs at 19 per cent of year-to-date sales. CommBank's analysis puts battery EVs at 24 per cent of September new-car sales, with more than 26,200 sold, and a record 157,958 new EVs sold in the first half of 2026, taking the national EV fleet to about 612,000 vehicles. ⁹⁸⁵

Affordability is a documented driver. The Herald notes new entry-level EVs from Chinese brands such as BYD, Geely and MG can sell for between $20,000 and $30,000 driveaway, with a typical driver saving about $3,000 a year in running costs. Motor Trades Association of Australia executive Bruce Billson told the Herald that when consumers can buy a new EV for $25,000, the maths around the second-hand market shifts considerably. CommBank separately records that the Electric Vehicle Council lists 196 battery EV and plug-in hybrid models available in Australia in 2026, up from 153 in 2025. ⁵⁸

Buyer preference data from the AADA and AutoGrab dataset adds market context: four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles took 46.2 per cent of used sales in September, up from 44.6 per cent in October 2025, with more than four in five used ute buyers choosing four-wheel drive every month since January. Manual vehicles fell to 6.6 per cent of used sales, down from 8.3 per cent a year earlier, showing how quickly the composition of the second-hand market is changing alongside the EV shift. ²³⁴