Cheap EVs are about to flood the used car market. Will more buyers make the switch from gas?

A surge of affordable used EVs is about to hit the market—at exactly the same time as drivers are looking to avoid high gas prices. Around 300,000 EV leases are set to expire this year, driven by a leasing boom that started around three years ago, when leasing offered the widest range of models eligible for federal tax credits. A wave of hybrid leases is also expiring this year. At the same time, there are fewer used gas cars on the market than usual because of slow sales in 2023 and 2024. Used EV sales are already strong, even as the rest of the EV market is struggling. Right now, buying an electric car can be a better deal than a similar used gas vehicle. At $20,000 to $30,000, a typical used gas option might be a five-year-old Toyota Camry or RAV4 with 50,000 miles, according to Recurrent, a company that studies the EV industry. In the same price range, you can get a Tesla Model 3 or Volkswagen ID.4 that’s a year newer, with 20,000 fewer miles on it. For cars that cost less than $20