Wholesale prices for used electric vehicles (EVs) fell by almost £5,000 during Q4, according to Aston Barclay.

Data from the remarking firm’s fourth quarter sales suggests consumer interest is moving back towards petrol and diesel cars.

“Used EV prices were unlikely to stay at record highs forever and it took the rising cost of living to contribute to a major market correction,” said Mark Hankey, Aston Barclay’s chief revenue officer.

“We are on a one-way road towards EVs with new car take up continuing to grow. Some vendors expect to reach BEV/ICE used car parity in 2024 and as EV volumes continue to rise, prices should stabilize.”

The findings come just days after Cap HPI revealed that used EV values are declining four times faster than their diesel-powered equivalents.

While prices may have cooled, the volume mix of EVs continues to grow as companies lead the move from ICE cars to greener alternatives.

Aston Barclay’s data shows used petrol prices rose in Q4 by 0.4% (£38) to £7,922, while hybrid prices remained consistent at £19,694 as these two fuel types saw the strongest demand at auction.

Ex-fleet stock shortages helped inflate used prices to a record high during Q4 of £16,206, a rise of 2.5% £404) over Q3. While average age in this sector remained at 41months for the third successive quarter, average mileage rose again to 34,558 miles. Ex-fleet stock will continue to get older as contract hire fleets report up to 40% of their fleet are on extended contracts as they wait for replacement new cars.

The biggest price rise in Q4 was experienced by dealer part exchanges between 55-75 months which increased by 6.8% (£720) to £11,095. This was helped by a fall in average age and mileage to 65 months and 56,981 miles as dealers who previously bought ex-fleet stock opted for young dealer part exchanges for retailing at below £15,000.

Last week AM reported on Tesla’s decision to cut pricing on its new car range just a month after delivering almost a third of its 2022 car registrations in December alone.

The move is likely to compound falling residual values with have seen the average Model 3 lose 23% of its value in the past 12 months.