Everyone shopping for a new car wants a good deal, and right now, there are plenty to be found in the electric vehicle space. That’s partly because new EVs aren’t flying off the shelves as they once were in the States. While sales saw a slight increase from April to May, they’re still down 10.7 percent year over year. As a result, the deals are getting sweeter.

According to data gathered from Cox Automotive, new EV prices are dropping. In May, the average price fell by 2.3 percent to $57,734. On top of that, incentives for these cars jumped 19.4 percent to an average of $8,226. That works out to roughly 14.2 percent of the average transaction price (ATP), which is the highest it’s been since 2019.

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Several notable models, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6, Nissan Ariya, and Acura ZDX are available for what effectively ends up being less than $40,000, which the study calculated by subtracting the average model-specific incentives from their ATPs.

New and Used EV Sales May 2025

Interestingly, the used electric vehicle market is going in the opposite direction. The average price rose 0.9 percent from April to May and 2.6 percent year over year. In cold, hard numbers that represents an average transaction price of $36,053. Despite that, sales increased 1.1 percent month over month and a substantial 32.1 percent year over year. Of those, Cox estimates that almost half (49.6%) were Teslas.

The price gap between used EVs and traditional ICE+ vehicles is also shrinking, staying under $2,000. Unsurprisingly, The Tesla Model 3 was the top-selling used electric car in May, with an average selling price of $23,160, which represents a 1.6 percent decrease from April.

New and Used EV Prices May 2025

Supply Shortages for Used EVs

Used EVs up for sale are far less than new ones. Data suggests 40 days of supply available in May, 11 percent less than a year previous and the lowest since June of 2022. That figure is the number of days of inventory a company has before it runs out of product.

“As EV adoption accelerates, ensuring a growing supply of affordable models is essential,” said Cox. “For many consumers, price remains one of the most significant barriers to making the switch to electric.”

In contrast, new EV dealers had an average of 111 days of supply in May. That’s 8 percent more than April, but still 11.6 percent less than May 2024.

The EV market is clearly in a bit of a balancing act right now, with more incentives, lower prices on new EVs, and rising costs in the used market. For shoppers, this creates a window of opportunity to grab some solid deals, but the clock might be ticking, especially with the $7,500 tax credit for new EVs and $4,000 for used ones on the chopping block soon.

New and Used EV Days’ Supply May 2025

China’s car market has been riding high, fueled by generous government subsidies. Dealers are taking advantage of this in numerous ways, including some less scrupulous ones selling zero-mileage cars as “used” to pocket trade-in subsidies meant to help consumers. Now, at least six cities and municipalities have hit the brakes on these subsidies, meaning local buyers will soon face higher costs when driving off with a new car.

The pause comes on the heels of concerns over the long-term fallout from the ongoing automotive price war sweeping through the nation.

Read: The Company That Started The EV Price War Now Says It’s Gone Too Far

In cities like Zhengzhou and Luoyang, local governments have announced a break in the program, citing the depletion of the initial round of funding from Beijing. Other cities, including Xinjiang, Chongqing, and Shenyang, to name a few, have hopped on the bandwagon, suspending a subsidy initiative that was originally meant to stimulate consumer spending during China’s ongoing economic struggles.

Reuters reports that subsidies like those in effect for the auto industry, as well as electronics and home appliances, contributed to a 6.4% growth in local retail sales for May. What’s more, data from the Ministry of Commerce reveals that through the first five months of this year, there have been more than 4 million applications for car trade-in subsidies.

Some Are Taking Advantage Of The Subsidies

While the subsidies help make cars more affordable, the program is being abused. For example, there’s a growing trend of new cars being heavily discounted and sold as “zero-mileage used cars” to quickly shift inventory. Additionally, many dealers are describing new cars as used vehicles that can be traded in, making them eligible for the subsidies.

Local reports state that these practices are one of the reasons why the subsidies have been used up quicker than expected, prompting suspensions.

The country’s National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance say the subsidy program will continue throughout this year, although it’s not known when more funds will be released by Beijing.

Tesla has just opened the door to a new level of trade-ins: the Cybertruck can now be traded in for other vehicles. Surprising? Maybe, but for anyone who’s been paying attention to Tesla, it’s a move that’s been long overdue. While the Cybertruck was originally priced at $99,990, the trade-in values today are sitting around $63,000, which is a steep drop in just under two years.

Naturally, this hasn’t gone over well with some Tesla owners, who seem to have forgotten the brand’s history. “There’s no point in trading in/upgrading with that low of an offer,” said one person on Cybertruckownersclub. “That’s about $25k depreciation – assuming $10k for FSD,” said another. One more person calculated a 17.2 percent hit in value over what has essentially been barely more than a year.

Read: This Used Cybertruck Just Sold For $6K More Than A New One

Of course, they jumped through a lot of hoops, counting all sorts of things to add value. A more straightforward comparison, from the original price to the trade-in value, suggests depreciation of over 30 percent in that same time period. Taking that kind of hit on a ‘Foundation Series’ is pretty wild. Yet, some owners don’t seem bothered at all.

Several expressed the desire to keep their truck for good and at least one even mentioned willing it to their kids. Clearly, this situation is going to affect different buyers in vastly different ways. For Tesla though, this might be just a bit more gaming of the system.

Now let’s layer on a little extra context. Just last week, it came to light that Tesla had been up to its usual tricks with trade-ins. When it took back cars from customers on lease deals, it promised to turn them into robotaxis. Instead, it just installed some new software features and resold them at a tidy profit. This is the kind of behavior Tesla could repeat with the Cybertruck. After all, if a car didn’t come with all the software options, Tesla could easily push an update, send it back to market, and charge a premium.

There’s really no good reason to believe that Tesla won’t try to do something similar here with the Cybertruck. Owners who didn’t get every available software option could see their trade-in back on the market with a serious markup in price. After all, Tesla only needs to send a software update to enable some features.

All of that said, it’s an interesting situation that Tesla is now in. It’s fighting battles on just about every front while still offering what is objectively a compelling set of products. Will that alone be enough to stem the tide? Only time will tell. At least until then, the chance of getting a Cybertruck for $39,990, albeit on the second-hand market, is getting better.

Credit: Carsly / Rinoa0 / Outdoors / Cybertruckownersclub.com

If you’re in the market for a used car, you’ll generally find the best deal on the private market, but that route isn’t for everyone. Many people prefer the convenience of buying through a dealer or directly from the automaker. For those looking to minimize the stress of buying a used car, Tesla’s used inventory might seem like an attractive option, though it’s not without its issues.

Read: Used EV Prices Plummet 32% As Tesla Price Cuts Impact Industry

The main drawback? You won’t even see the car until you’ve paid a non-refundable $500 deposit, plus anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in transport fees. And by “see the car,” we mean no photos of the actual vehicle – nothing. Just trust the process, apparently.

Yes, we know Tesla isn’t viewed in the best light at the moment, but that doesn’t change the fact that it continues to build some of the finest EVs on the market. It also has some reasonably priced used examples it’s looking to offload, and plenty of them come with very generous warranties.

Five of the most tempting we’ve come across include three first-gen Model Ys and two first-gen Model 3s. The cheapest of the bunch is a 2020 Model 3 Standard Range Plus Rear-Wheel Drive with an asking price of $19,000. While the car has been driven 62,092 miles (99,927 km), a look through AutoTrader shows that similar Model 3s with around the same mileage generally have asking prices between $18,000 and $22,000, so this example is reasonably well-priced.

Perhaps of most interest to a potential buyer is that it will include a 1-year / 10,000-mile limited warranty from Tesla itself. Additionally, the balance of the original battery and drive unit warranty is fully transferable and lasts until September 2028 or 160,000 miles. Several used Model 3s and Ys have also been advertised with an additional basic vehicle limited warranty that extends until up to 2026 with 50,000 or even 80,000 miles.

Another 2021 Model 3 Standard Range Plus Rear-Wheel Drive has been listed for $19,800, but it has a battery and drive unit warranty lasting until October 2029 / 160,000 miles. However, the listing notes it is ‘repaired,’ without specifying what repairs have been made to it.

The three Model Ys in Tesla’s used inventory have also been listed as repaired vehicles. They all include the 1-year / 10,000-mile limited warranty and have battery and drive unit warranties that extend until August 2028 and December 2028.