Market Watch: What Used EVs Can We Buy In Singapore Today?

It’s a constantly evolving situation with countless new entrants - here’s the pick of the bunch.

Gerald Yuen

09 Jan 2025

The sheer number of new Chinese car brands entering Singapore’s landscape is nothing short of staggering. To be fair, that’s a situation not isolated to our market - regional players are also experiencing changing tides that some forecasted, but not many were prepared for. Take Thailand for instance. It’s widely regarded as China’s stepping stone for right hand drive car exports to the world.

No surprises then - the number of Chinese brands setting up factories in the country’s coastal Rayong province are mind-bending. Shockwaves have come and gone - the most shocking in our books is the price war. All 3 variants of BYD Seal saw up to a 30% price drop at Thailand International Motor Expo last month. Imagine the scenes for those who bought one the previous month, or the carnage (literally) in the used car market.

While this scenario hasn't quite trickled down to the Singapore market, we reckon that prices of used EVs are still bolstered by hefty COE premiums especially in the more affordable end of the spectrum. Resulting annual depreciations are still rather familiar - 12 to 15 grand in the lower rungs, with more premium examples occupying the 20+ grand tiers. What used EVs can we buy today? Let’s find out.

Let’s take a look at more affordable options

At time of writing, a Honda E tempts us at 11 grand annual depreciation. It’s a 3.5 years, 55k mileage example, and the only pre-owned one in the market. A couple of MG ZSs can be had for around 12 to 13 grand depreciation, followed by a rather rare Opel Mokka-e in a wildly popular compact SUV segment.

In the 13k bracket you’ll be able to buy the BYD e6 - perfect for those who find a Toyota Wish irreplaceable. Not convinced by these EVs? Wait around longer and we might locate a city-sized Dongfeng Box in our classifieds soon. Or hang in there for a less mainstream Seres 3.

I’m willing to stretch my budget a bit further…

14k annual depreciation nets you newer examples, like a barely driven MG4 and BYD Dolphin. Granted, these compact hatchbacks are sitting above SUVs on the price ladder, but they still offer bags of space with EV-specific platforms they’re based on. Also explore the BYD Atto 3, Hyundai Kona EV and Peugeot e-2008, although they tend to have higher mileage.

I want to buy a pre-owned Tesla

That sets you back from 17 grand annual depreciation onwards. Those listed haven’t been sitting in garages for sure - this 3 year old Model 3 Standard Range covered 72,000km, while this Performance clocked almost 80,000km over 4 years. Lower mileage samples can be had from 18k depreciation onwards. And that’s where the options start to widen - as-good-as-new examples of the BYD Seal, Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Polestar 2 might tempt you away from Team Tesla.

I want the cream of the crop

Well noted - here’s a 28,000km Mercedes-Benz EQA250, going for 22 grand annually. That’s a depreciation to rival a used Tesla Model Y. The 30k depreciation segment places you in an increasingly rare playing field - a Mercedes-Benz EQC400 AMG Line and Audi e-tron Sportback Electric 50 are pretty much some of the best German-bred options, before we step into sports EV “royalty” - the Taycan has a depreciation to rival some of the most sought after JDMs in Singapore.