The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index fell to 207.4 in the first half of August, down 1.2% from July, according to Cox Automotive. That's the headline number. The more interesting one is buried in the segment data: used EVs and compact cars, which had outrun the rest of the used market for most of 2026, finally stopped climbing.
Cox Automotive's own commentary ties the slowdown to supply. More off-lease EVs are landing at wholesale auctions, giving dealers more inventory to bid on and easing the price pressure that built up over the spring and early summer. It's a reversal worth noticing if you've been holding off on a used EV because prices kept climbing every time you checked.
Why the rally ran out of room
EVs didn't get pricier because demand exploded. They got pricier because supply was thin. A lot of the EVs on the road today were leased rather than bought outright, and leasing volume spiked in 2023 under a federal tax credit structure that made monthly lease payments meaningfully cheaper than financing the same car. Three-year leases signed in 2023 are coming due now, in 2026, and that's exactly the vintage of car showing up in wholesale lanes.
Edmunds' Q1 2026 market report puts a number on the broader trend: off-lease inventory across all vehicle types is projected to grow 25.7% this year, adding close to half a million more units to the used market than in 2025. EVs make up an outsized share of that wave, since so much EV volume moved through leases rather than direct purchases over the last few years.
More cars landing at auction at the same time pushes wholesale prices down. Retail prices, what you'd actually pay at a dealership, tend to follow wholesale with a lag of a few weeks to a couple of months. If the wholesale slowdown holds, expect the retail EV market to soften into the fall.
What CarScout's snapshot shows right now
CarScout's August 23 market snapshot shows a wide spread on 2023 model-year EVs, the exact vintage now hitting three-year lease returns:
| Model | 2023 MY listings | Price range | Mean mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 1,291 | $12,999–$49,990 | 40,569 mi |
| Tesla Model Y | 1,382 | $11,900–$42,000 | 44,718 mi |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 604 | $16,999–$49,280 | 28,063 mi |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 1,174 | $13,721–$35,973 | 30,153 mi |
| Kia EV6 | 408 | $17,194–$39,688 | 30,882 mi |
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have the deepest inventory and the widest price spreads, which usually means the most room to negotiate. The Ioniq 5 and EV6, both Hyundai Motor Group products on the same E-GMP platform, are running lower mileage on average. That tracks: they weren't on sale as long as the Model 3, so fewer of them have racked up years of daily driving.
What this means if you're shopping now
A cooling index doesn't mean prices crash overnight. It means the direction changed. For most of 2026, waiting on a used EV cost you money, because prices kept rising while you waited. That's no longer automatically true. If the off-lease wave keeps building through the fall the way Edmunds projects, patience starts paying off again.
That's not a reason to wait indefinitely. Mileage and condition still matter more than timing the market to the week, and a well-kept 2023 EV with 25,000 miles is worth more than a beat-up one with 55,000 regardless of what the index does next month. But if you were bidding against a rising market a few months ago, that specific pressure has let up.
FAQ
Is now a good time to buy a used EV? Wholesale EV prices cooled in mid-August 2026 after months of gains, per Cox Automotive's Manheim index, as more off-lease vehicles reached auction. Retail prices typically follow wholesale within a few weeks to two months, so the pricing pressure that built up earlier in the year is easing, though it hasn't fully unwound yet.
Why are so many EVs coming off lease in 2026? EV lease volume spiked in 2023 under a federal tax credit structure that made leasing cheaper than buying outright for many models. Those are standard three-year leases, and cars leased in 2023 are returning to dealers now. Edmunds projects overall off-lease inventory will grow 25.7% in 2026 versus 2025.
Does a lower Manheim index mean dealer prices are lower too? Not immediately. Manheim tracks wholesale, the price dealers pay each other at auction, not what you pay at a dealership. Retail prices usually move in the same direction with a lag, so a wholesale drop in August is more predictive than something you can act on the same week.
Curious what a specific EV is actually listing for right now? CarScout's Tesla Model 3 market page tracks current listing counts and price ranges by model year, updated weekly.