Zemo Best Practice Guide provides clarity to buyers of used EVs
Tue 26 March 2024
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With used electric vehicle sales reaching a new record in 2023, more and more consumers need clear, unbiased information to inform their purchase decision. Zemo's new Best Practice Guide aims to help those that sell or assist in the selling of EVs consistently communicate key information to prospective buyers of used EVs.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, sales of used EVs nearly doubled in 2023 to 118,973. That rise followed a sharp increase in 2022. More and more electric vehicles are expected to arrive in the used car market in the coming years.
Used car buyers are now faced with a greater range of choices than ever, with a variety of powertrains, tested to different cycles and requirements. Buyers of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), in particular, need to understand new categories of information, different units of measurement and an array of new features and capabilities associated with electric propulsion.
Moreover, there is a lot of confusing information - even some misinformation - that is likely to influence the choice of consumers about their next vehicle.
Zemo has published this Best Practice Guide as an acknowledgement of the challenges consumers are facing and to help ensure that core information is communicated to consumers as clearly and consistently as possible.
Even used car dealers may not yet be fully equipped with the necessary understanding of the vehicles, and their charging requirements, to market BEVs effectively and comprehensively.
To address this gap and empower both sellers and buyers, Zemo Partnership has developed a Best Practice Guide specifically tailored for those involved in selling used EVs, whether online or in person. Through the guide, used car dealers are provided with direction on what information should be included in sales materials for electric cars and the reasons for its inclusion. Through this route, Zemo aims to provide consistency and clarity across the consumer’s used EV purchase journey.
Zemo has a long history of providing reliable information to consumers about the environmental performance of cars available to purchase. As the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, Zemo was the originator of the colour-coded environment label for new cars which appears in car dealerships and alongside online and other sales materials. Zemo extended the new car label to used cars and this has been used as the basis for the ‘Environmental Car Label’, produced by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), which is now legally mandated to be displayed in new car showrooms.
Report author Zemo's Naomi Brandon-Bravo said: "Making an informed decision to buy a used electric vehicle requires time and research. I hope that by explaining and clarifying many of the key terms and things to consider when buying a used EV, more consumers will be encouraged to make the leap into an electric motoring future."
To download the Best Practice Guide to buying a used EV, click here.
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