22 Jul 2025
Nearly seven out of 10 dealers (68%) say PHEVs are becoming a stepping stone to an electric vehicle (EV) for car buyers worried about going fully electric.
Startline’s July Used Car Tracker shows, as a result, 60% expect values for PHEVs to rise and 48% expect demand to similarly increase.
However, many expect this trend to be transitory, with only 37% thinking PHEVs will have a long-term market presence and 37% believing motorists will start to reject them for EVs.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “While there are now strong indications that the market for used EVs is improving quite rapidly, there remains a sizeable cohort of car buyers who are concerned about factors such as accessing charging. For them, PHEVs are emerging as a halfway house to electrification, providing some electric range but also the reassurance of a combustion engine. It makes sense that they are becoming more popular.
“It’s interesting though, that more than a third of dealers believe their current rise will pass as more drivers opt for a full EV. They think that while PHEVs are very much on an upwards trajectory right now, their drivers will move onto fully electric cars in time.”
Perhaps surprisingly, only 13% of dealers say the government’s recent changes to the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, which means PHEVs can now stay on sale until 2035, has had an impact on the situation.
Paul said: “Certainly, there is a widespread expectation that the revised ZEV Mandate will provide a boost to PHEVs in the new car sector but it is clear that few used car dealers in our research believe it will have a material impact on their customers.”
Compiled monthly by APD Global Research – well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs – the Startline Used Car Tracker this month questioned 300 consumers and 60 dealers.