Your EV’s future trade-in value may depend on this one battery metric
Odometers have deeper roots in the auto industry than many drivers appreciate. In addition to tracking how far a vehicle has traveled, they have also been the guide post for current value and future life expectancy.
For electric cars, the battery is more important than its odometer. With up to a third of the cost all in that one component, your car is, in some ways, worth as much as its battery, and odometer is no longer a leading indicator of battery health.
A new EV battery metric and valuation tool from Recurrent is changing the way used cars are bought and sold.
Range Score: a simple metric for used EV values
Recurrent’s new Range Score is a simple metric (from 0 – 100+) to compare any vehicle’s current range to what was expected when new for that make, model, and battery configuration. For example, a 94 means that an individual car has a current max range that is 94% of its original range, which often varies from its EPA rating.
EPA range is rarely accurate because it doesn’t account for changes over time or adjustments by the carmakers themselves. Instead, original range is the expected range as observed by Recurrent when new, after well over 100 million recorded miles across EV makes, models and years.
While simple on the surface, millions of real-world data points go into each Range Score. Recurrent provides free battery monitoring for over 10,000 EV owners in the US. Each vehicle battery is checked several times per day through onboard telematics with the permission of the driver. It’s designed to be all over-the-air without clunky devices that infringe on leg room or privacy. Streaming battery insights over the weeks and months allows Recurrent to draw conclusions about an individual vehicle’s current range, how that range will fluctuate in different conditions, and how it compares to hundreds or thousands of similar vehicles.
The sophistication of these data models means that Recurrent often does not need to study an individual car for months to generate a range estimate or score for many of the electric cars that frequent the used market today. After entering several vehicle-specific data points, EV owners in the US can check their Range Score in 2 minutes for a Chevrolet Bolt, Chevrolet Volt, Nissan LEAF, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X and Tesla Model Y.
Good batteries lead to higher sale prices
If an EV is as good as its battery, then good batteries deserve higher resale values, and that is proving to be true. A leading US wholesaler found that EVs with Range Scores from Recurrent are “seeing $4,000 to $7,000 increases” in sale price due to battery transparency.
This creates an opportunity for EV owners to increase the trade-in value of their car based on its battery. After using Recurrent’s free tool to check their EV’s vehicle valuation, Range Score and recommended battery premium, owners who are thinking about selling soon – say their pre-order for the latest and greatest EV is finally ready for delivery – can shop offers through Recurrent or use their battery-specific valuation to get a better price elsewhere. Whether selling to a dealership or private-party buyer, this metric may prove to be far more important than its odometer.
For owners who are not ready to sell anytime soon, they can start tracking their battery’s performance with the free EV Owner Insights, so when ready, they will have a valuable third-party verification of the battery’s history and condition.
A reminder to all of our Canadian and EU/UK readers: Recurrent is only available for EV owners and sellers in the US, but they’ve promised us they’re working on it.
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Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.
Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.
However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.
The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.
The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.
Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.
We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.
For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.
Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:
Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:
1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers
WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.
While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.
We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.
Electrek’s Take
It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.
Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?
I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.
Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.
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Environment
Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000
Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.
Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X
The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.
Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).
After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).
The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).
For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.
Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.
Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.
Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.
GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”
At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.
What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.
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