Dealers Bid 57.6% of the New Price for a Three-Year-Old Model 3, the Best Figure in Aampere's First EV Resale Index. Chinese Brands Get 41%.

Aampere, a Munich-based auction platform for used electric cars founded in 2022, published the first edition of its EV Resale Index in October 2026. The data is not asking prices. It is the highest bid dealers from ten European countries placed in 4,854 auctions on the platform between January and September 2026, which Aampere argues is closer to what the trade will actually pay than a seller's listing.

Two results stand out for a Tesla reader. After 36 months a Model 3 is bid at 57.6% of its new price and a Model Y at 55.9%, the two best figures in the index. The Tesla brand averages 57.2% against a market average of 48.0%, a gap of 9.2 points that Aampere translates into roughly €4,600 more residual value on a €50,000 car. "No other car group comes close", the report says.

The ranking after 36 months

Models appear only with at least 20 auctions, which is why the table is short and why the Chinese brands are shown as a group: at 36 months they fetch 41% of new price, and 34.9% at 48 months against 42.1% for the market. Aampere notes that the group is dominated by MG and Aiways, with BYD and XPeng only just visible, because the large waves of Chinese registrations date from 2025 and have not reached the used market. Dealers also bid less often on them, about 30% fewer bidders per auction than on a comparable car from another maker. The report adds a caveat that cuts both ways: residuals are measured against the list price including options and ignore discounts, and Chinese cars "are often pushed into the market with high discounts".

The index month by month

Aampere's explanation is fuel. It says September 2026 was the most expensive month ever at German pumps, at about €2.27 a litre for Super and €2.38 for diesel, which shifts the total cost of ownership towards the electric car; it cites the KBA figure that one in three new cars registered in Germany in September was fully electric. The most contested cars are mid-size: auctions for cars with an original list price between €50,000 and €85,000 attract the most bidders, with the demand index at 99 to 100 there, 93 for €40,000 to €50,000, and only 48 for cars listed under €30,000, which dealers find harder to resell because of their range.

How it compares with the other studies

This is the third residual-value reading on European EVs in a month, and each measures something different. DAT's German figures come from retail trade data for one country, and T&E's four-market study adjusted for the price gap between electric and combustion cars. Aampere's number is a wholesale bid: what a dealer is willing to pay before adding margin, which is why its 48% market average sits below listing-based figures. Within that frame the Tesla lead is consistent with what Auto Trader saw in Britain, where used-EV enquiries jumped as diesel hit a record price.

What it means for an owner

For someone selling a 2023 Model 3 or Model Y into the trade, the index puts a floor under expectations: the car is bid at roughly nine points above the average electric car of the same age. For a buyer, it is a reminder that the brand premium survives into the used market even as Tesla's new-car share in Europe has fallen. The next edition is due in January 2027.