Teslas maintain their value best in the used market after 36 months. Chinese cars perform poorly [study, Q3 2026, GERMANY]

Aampere’s platform facilitates the sale of used electric vehicles. Its staff analyzed five thousand dealer offers to determine how much an electric car can be sold for after three years. They found that Tesla buyers suffer the least losses, while the greatest losses occur with Chinese models and those gradually phasing out of the market. Any concerns? There are: 1/ this might just be advertising for Aampere’s platform, since “Tesla gets clicks,” and the comparison was made 2/ based on dealer prices (proposed), not actual transaction prices.

Do electric cars (read: Teslas) maintain their value well, unlike other electric cars (read: non-Teslas)?

The results of the Aampere study conducted in Germany do not fully correlate with data from the Italian market, but both rankings were prepared using different methodologies (detailed model analysis vs. overall average based on list prices), so they should be viewed as representing two distinct segments of the market. In Germany, after three years, the models that retain their value best are: 1/ Tesla Model 3 (57.6% of the original price) and 2/ Tesla Model Y (55.9% of the original price), while the market average is 48 percent (source).

Cars from China perform poorly, with their value dropping to an average of 41.2 percent of the original price after those same three years. After four years, it’s only 34.9 percent. It’s worth noting that Chinese electric vehicles from 2022 are entirely different models compared to today’s cars, which feature ultra-fast and megafast charging, high-quality finishes, and, let’s say, acceptable software.

Still above the market average are 3/ BMW iX3 from the previous generation (50.7 percent), 4/ Skoda Enyaq (50 percent), and 5/ Hyundai Ioniq 5 (48.4 percent). Below the market average are:

Kia EV6 – 47 percent,

Cupra Born – 46 percent,

BMW iX1 – 44.9 percent,

Mercedes EQA – 44.9 percent,

Mercedes EQB – 44.2 percent.

BMW i4 – 43 percent,

Mercedes EQE – 37.1 percent,

BMW iX – 36.3 percent,

Audi Q4 e-tron – 36 percent.

The bottom of the list features models that have recently left the market (EQA, EQB, iX) or will soon be replaced by newer versions (i4). The most surprising entry is the Audi Q4 e-tron. This car is still in production, has undergone a technical upgrade, and there are no signs that its manufacturing will end anytime soon (except for the Sportback version). There is only one explanation: the market knows that Audi sells the Q4 e-tron at huge discounts compared to its listed prices, so people are unwilling to overpay for a product that the manufacturer itself does not value highly.

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