The Electric Car That Offers The Best Resale Value After 3 Years

Being one of the early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) can be both a pleasure and a challenge. The pleasure comes from the novelty that its silent, responsive driving experience provides. In contrast, the challenge can come from the charging infrastructure, depending on where you live, or the newly discovered faster depreciation that EVs apparently face.

It’s only fairly recently that we realized EVs depreciate faster than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and the reasons behind them will be explored later in the article. If you’re sampling what EV ownership is like, you can either try searching for the best EV lease deals being offered this month, or maybe you’re looking to own an EV for just three years.

Three years is a pretty good timeframe to experiment with EV ownership, and the depreciation at that time still won’t be as bad unlike if you owned an EV for five years or more. Finally, what if you also want a car and not an SUV? Among the plethora of electric cars currently in the market, here’s the model that depreciates the least in three years.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Porsche, Reuters, and iSeeCars.

The Porsche Taycan Loses Just 38.6 percent Of Its Value In Three Years

As one song by a famous American rapper would say, “Hey little Porsche, I wanna try ya”, then three years is a perfect time to sample what owning a Porsche Taycan is like. This is according to data we’ve compiled from iSeeCars, wherein among electric cars currently on sale today, the Porsche Taycan has the best resale value in three years of ownership, losing 38.6 percent of its value. In isolation, that sounds decent, but how does it fare versus other cars?

How It Fares Versus Other Cars In General

It’s pretty much expected that EV resale values aren’t as good as ICE cars, but

the Porsche Taycan
‘s depreciation of 38.6 percent isn’t so bad. According to iSeeCars, the average vehicle depreciation for all segments in three years is 30.5 percent, while for sedans, it’s 28.6 percent. Therefore, the Taycan’s resale values aren’t too bad in the first three years of ownership.

However, there’s a perfectly good reason why we did vouch for the three-year ownership. That’s because, by the fifth year, the depreciation of the Taycan speeds up significantly. By the fifth year, the Taycan is set to lose 61.2 percent of its value, a lot more than the industry average of 43.7 percent. That’s pretty much the case for the Taycan’s large luxury electric car segment as well,

Better Resale Versus Other Electric Cars

However, compared to the average in the EV sector, the Porsche Taycan has the best three-year depreciation. Its 38.6 percent depreciation puts it ahead of the Tesla Model 3, the small Mini Electric hatch, the now-discontinued Hyundai Ioniq Electric, and the pioneering Tesla Model S. The Porsche Taycan and the other electric cars on this list have been on sale since the 2020 model year, which enables iSeeCars to have solid data when it comes to the resale value of these cars.

What You Get In A Porsche Taycan

The

Porsche Taycan got a mid-cycle facelift
, which brings a lot of crucial updates for this midsize electric luxury sports sedan. Not only did it get improved looks and tech, but also faster performance and more crucially, longer range for all variants.

Improved Looks And Tech

For the 2025 model year, the Porsche Taycan receives incrementally improved looks. This has been achieved through redesigned HD matrix LED headlights and a new front bumper in three different designs for the standard models, the GTS, and the Turbo variants. There are also new alloy wheel designs across all variants, along with new paint choices. The rear bumper has also been redesigned, along with the full-width LED taillights wherein the Porsche lettering is also now illuminated.

As for the interior, the Taycan also receives minor improvements. The overall dash design remains largely unchanged, but the Porsche Communication Management operating system has been enhanced with more functionality. You can now also opt for a new front passenger’s screen, bringing the total screen count to four. Upholstery choices are also a highlight because you can get Race-Tex upholstery that’s complemented by wool-infused textile inserts with Pepita (houndstooth) pattern, which gives off a retro sporty vibe reminiscent of past Porsche 911s.

Better Performance And Range

There are a whopping

eight variants of the 2025 Porsche Taycan
, and the good thing is all variants get improved performance and range, and this doesn’t take into account the two available battery packs for the Taycan, Taycan 4, and Taycan 4S. For the most range, the Taycan or Taycan 4, both with the Performance Battery Plus, are your best bet, as they offer a maximum of 318 miles of EPA-estimated range.

For even more performance, you can start exploring the Taycan GTS and above, which all get the Performance Battery Plus as standard. As a result, compared to the pre-facelift predecessors, these performance variants have improved range as well. The Taycan GTS has yet to be rated by the EPA, but among ther performance-oriented Taycans, the Taycan Turbo has the best range, rated by the EPA to do 292 miles. Of course, there’s the obscenely powerful Taycan Turbo GT and the optional Weissach Package, which push the boundaries of electric sports sedans.

But The Taycan Is Facing Headwinds

The 2025 Porsche Taycan has been improved on all fronts, from enhanced looks to improved range and performance. Unfortunately, the Porsche electric sports sedan is facing a lot of headwinds, most of which are due to challenging market conditions.

Porsche Taycan Sales Are Down

In the United States, the Porsche Taycan isn’t selling as well as the other models, with annual sales down by 37 percent compared to 2023. 7,570 units were sold in 2023, but it was reduced to 4,747 in 2024. On a global scale, however, things are even more worrisome as Taycan sales have dropped 49 percent compared to 2023. The main driver of that decline is China, where Porsche’s overall sales in what used to be the brand’s biggest market has shrunk by 28 percent. The Taycan is a performance EV that puts high priority in driving dynamics, but in China, where cheaper but equally-sophisticated EVs are popping up left and right, the Taycan is facing an existential crisis.

Rivals Cheaper By The Dozen

But perhaps the biggest hurdle of the Porsche Taycan in 2025, apart from China steering away from German-made EVs, is its price tag. Increasing EV competition is giving American buyers a lot more EV options than ever before. However, rather than leading to higher prices, the increased competition is leading to the reversal of new EV prices–a force that’s undoubtedly led by Tesla.

In addition, the Taycan, being made in Germany, isn’t eligible for the

$7,500 Federal Tax Credit
. Even if it were made in America, its high price tag and flagship positioning would likely place it higher than the maximum price bracket for an American-made EV to be eligible for the tax credit in the first place. Finally, the Trump administration has plans to introduce tariffs on imported goods, including vehicles, and in the face of cheaper but equally capable competitors like the Tesla Model S and Lucid Air, the Taycan is facing a lot of challenges globally and in the North American market.