Buy an EV? Tips to ensure that your car keeps its value

Electric vehicle owners in Israel are faced with a new reality: EV sales are in the downward trend. The reasons for the decline are known – consumer confusion, an influx of brands, rising license and insurance costs as well as a market that made up almost 25% of all new car sales last year.

The Israel's automotive market is volatile, and while the last few months have recorded a decline, this does not necessarily show the long -term prospects. The transition to electromobility remains inevitable. In the coming months, however, the market will be expected to experience a decline in used EV prices, which are powered by aggressive sales campaigns by importers. Just last week, Geo Mobility, the importer of Geely and Zeek, joined the wave of advertising campaigns and offers sector -specific discounts worth thousands of Schekel on various models.

One reason for the “cooling” market is a shift in the way of thinking of consumers. The buyers have the early excitement of the striking technical functions as in large screens crossing and now prioritized practical, valuable vehicles.

Since Israeli consumers were constantly bombarded by marketing messages to “luxury” and “innovation” by brands that were practically unknown in the country a year ago, navigation due to the flood of information has become increasingly difficult. Many of these brands are newcomers to which the defined reputation of the reputation in Israel has been missing for decades. How can buyers ensure that you keep your value?

The answer is in both technical and market -related factors. In contrast to gasoline or hybrid vehicles, EVS require different features to maintain a strong resale value. Here is what you have to search in a new electric car to ensure that it keeps its value on the used car market.

When it comes to charging, not all electric vehicles are created equally. EVS are based on two types of fees: DC Fast Lading, usually at public stations and loads that occur at home or for standard loading devices. Fast charging is less critical – it is mainly for emergencies on long road rides.

However, the charge of the alternating electricity is used every day, and there are two types: single phases and three -phase. One-phase shop is painfully slow and often takes over 10 hours to fully store a battery-sometimes even longer. Most public chargers and new residential buildings offer three -phase buildings, which is much faster. No EV owner would like to find that your car lasts a whole night to fully calculate. Vehicles with single -phase loads, such as the 10C for the prior tax S7 and Speak engine, will probably fight on the used car market.

Customers with sharp-eyed geely may have found that the entry-level version of the popular Geely geometry C, which offered less than 400 km range, is no longer sold in Israel. Last year, large trade-in networks announced that they would no longer accept EVS with a range of less than 400 km and for a good reason.

Just like with slow shops, the driving area is a key factor for EV internship. Most Israeli drivers travel less than 100 km a day, but this rare long-distance travel 300 km or more-can turn into a stressful ordeal to constantly check the battery level. Public chargers are expensive, the waiting times are long and nobody likes to be around at a charging station. As a result, EVS, who do not offer at least 400 km of official areas, will be expected to determine a strong decline in the reimbursement value.

“Our EVs are the most innovative”, “We are a premium brand”, “a celebrity chef drives our car”-when importers market little-known brands to Israeli consumers, everything works. In reality, however, it is difficult sales data to determine the success of a brand in Israel – especially for new brands.

In 2024, Israel saw an influx of new EV brands, but some already have problems. For many it is clear that they will not be important success stories. The only way to measure whether a brand is really successful is to pursue monthly sales reports published by the Israel Vehicle Importers Association.

Sales data are also associated with a reasonable proportion of manipulations. Importers register cars under their own names and push vehicles into fleet markets without ever taking to the streets and much more. But at the end of the day the matters sell – and the numbers are not lying.

In 2024, tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles flooded the Israeli market against an expected tax increase. Many importers had excess stocks that had unloaded a large number of cars in utility car dealers, where they are now sold as vehicles “zero miles, first owners”.

In contrast to the elegant exhibition rooms of official dealers, these used cars work in a different reality-new sales employee, no air-conditioned lounges, only aggressive prices, online advertising campaigns, financing offers and trade offers.

For buyers, this means one thing: If you buy a popular EV as a “zero-mile, first-out-” car, you have to enter direct competition with these dealers when it is time for resale. Anyone who tries to sell a six -month or one -year EV will quickly recognize that retailers offer the same models at significantly reduced prices and reduce the resale value.

How can buyers protect themselves? A simple Google search for the desired model together with the term “zero mile, first owner” can show whether an importer with an excess inventory has to struggle. If the market is over -saturated with a certain model, anyone who buys it from the dealer can have serious challenges in resale in front of the management.

Massive EV discounts have been recorded in the past few weeks: up to 15,000 shekel from Changan models, thousands of incentives for Maxus von Umi, exclusive deals for Zeekl about the “Hever” program for security forces and aggressive sales campaigns from MG.

These discounts do not appear because the cars sell well. On the contrary, importers reduce prices because they have difficulty moving the inventory.

Buyers who are burned by steep discounts should ask themselves: What do these price reductions signal? Why does the importer offer you? How does this affect the future value of the vehicle? In many cases, buyers have to recognize that a car on the new market on the used car market does not become a coveted model in a magical way. On the contrary -the second -hand market reflects the sale of new cars. Models that are difficult to sell if new ones will probably fight the same way when reselling.

The EV market in Israel is flooded with brands, which are dependent on a single model-hob by a Chinese electric frequency caretaker without a wider series of limousines, compact or other vehicle types.

If buyers recognize that an automobile manufacturer has no significant presence beyond a single model, they often lose interest. This leads to frequent discount campaigns, “Special Edition” releases with a slightly longer range or additional functions and other marketing gimmicks that undermine the resale value.

The Israeli automotive market follows the official standards determined by Europe, the USA and Canada. If a vehicle is approved for sale in these regions, it can be imported in Israel. However, there are exceptions – to ensure that vehicles can be imported in Europe according to the “Small Series” prescription, which enables up to 400 units per year of a model that do not correspond to complete European security and quality standards.

This means that some of these cars are equipped with partial security systems or other compromises that prefer importers to remain under closure. Since these models are naturally less common – and often less secure – it is unlikely that they will achieve a widespread popularity in Israel and suffer stronger depreciation.

How can buyers identify these vehicles? Just ask the importer whether the car falls under the classification “Small Series”. At the moment, several models in Israel will meet this definition, including the older generation Lesp engine T03, the previous generation for Friday and JAC 30. If a car is classified as an import “Small Series”, its resale value is likely to decrease considerably.