Every used EV pricing story on this site so far has been about decline — off-lease inventory flooding in, values sliding, buyers waiting for the bottom. The latest data suggests some of you may have just missed it. According to CARFAX Canada's mid-year market update, released August 13, 2026, used EV prices have reversed their multi-year slide and are now ticking back up, even as the broader used vehicle market stays roughly flat.

Quick answer: Used EV prices in Canada fell sharply through early 2026 — Canadian Auto Dealer reported a $1,765 single-month drop in March, the steepest on record, driven by a wave of off-lease inventory. But CARFAX Canada's August update shows that trend reversing: the average used EV listing price climbed to $42,834 in June 2026, up 1.1% month-over-month, and now sits just 1.7% below June 2025 — a much smaller gap than earlier in the year. The catch is that this isn't broad-based appreciation; it's a supply-composition effect, with affordable entry-level used EVs still scarce even as overall inventory grows.

The free-fall, recapped

To understand why the stabilization matters, it helps to remember how steep the decline was getting. Canadian Auto Dealer's reporting on March 2026 data found used EV prices fell $1,765 in a single month — described as the steepest monthly drop the data had recorded — driven by a surge of off-lease vehicles hitting the market simultaneously. By that point, over half of all used EVs listed in Canada were selling below $35,000, a genuine compression in values from where the segment had been. Notably, that decline wasn't a demand problem — EV search interest had actually climbed 96% over the preceding 60 days — it was a supply problem, with inventory growing faster than buyers could absorb it. We covered the supply side of that story in depth in why 2026–2027 will flood Canada with used electric vehicles.

Then prices turned

CARFAX Canada's H1 2026 report, published August 13, 2026 and covering data through June, tells a noticeably different story than the spring numbers. Nationally, the average used vehicle listing price sat at $31,487 in June — down 4.7% from June 2025, but essentially flat for five straight months in a narrow $31,000–$31,500 band, with inventory climbing 15.5% month-over-month without dragging prices down further. CARFAX's own read: "increasing inventory is helping balance the market, but supply remains sufficiently constrained to prevent significant downward pricing pressure."

The EV-specific numbers inside that report are the real headline. Used EV prices climbed to an average $42,834 in June — up 1.1% from May, and now only 1.7% below where they sat in June 2025. That's a sharp change in trajectory from the freefall Canadian Auto Dealer described just a few months earlier, and CARFAX frames it plainly as a reversal of the segment's earlier declines.

Why EVs specifically held while overall inventory grew

The explanation isn't that used EVs suddenly got more desirable across the board — it's a composition effect, and CARFAX says so directly: "affordable entry-level used EV options remain relatively limited," with used EV inventory still concentrated in higher-priced Tesla models even as total used vehicle supply expands. In plainer terms: there are more used vehicles for sale overall, but the cheap used EVs — older Leafs, Bolts, base-trim Konas — aren't the ones flooding in. What's arriving is disproportionately premium-priced stock, which pulls the average up even without any single model actually appreciating in value.

That's an important distinction for anyone shopping specifically for a budget used EV rather than watching the segment-wide average. If you're hunting under $30,000, the CARFAX data doesn't necessarily mean your target vehicles got more expensive — it may just mean fewer of them are being counted in the average right now. Our guide on why some used EVs are dirt cheap (and when you should avoid them) is worth a read if you're specifically shopping that end of the market.

The regional picture

CARFAX's data also shows real geographic spread. Vancouver posted the highest average used vehicle price in the country at $44,995, up a striking 10.2% year-over-year — notable given BC is also home to some of Canada's strongest EV adoption historically. Quebec, by contrast, continued to offer the most affordable pricing among major provinces, and Atlantic Canada was among the few regions showing year-over-year price growth in the broader (non-EV-specific) market. If you're shopping in BC specifically, it's worth reading alongside our coverage of BC's own recent ZEV sales target cut — the province's shifting policy and its unusually high used vehicle prices are, at minimum, happening at the same time.

What this means if you're shopping right now

The honest takeaway is that the "wait for prices to keep falling" strategy that made sense in early 2026 doesn't have the same data behind it anymore. Prices didn't crash further through the summer — they stabilized and, for the EV segment specifically, ticked up. That doesn't mean you've missed the bottom entirely; CARFAX's own numbers show EV prices are still 1.7% below year-ago levels, and the broader used market remains 4.7% down year-over-year with growing inventory. But the steep, fast declines from earlier in 2026 appear to be behind us, at least for now. It's also worth factoring in Ottawa's recent repeal of the EV sales mandate, which removes some of the regulatory pressure that had been pushing automakers to discount new EVs aggressively — discounting that was a real contributor to the used-price slide in the first place. If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a bigger drop, it may be time to compare actual current listings rather than continuing to wait, a point we made in our mid-year used EV market check and one this newer data reinforces rather than contradicts.

The bottom line

Used EV prices in Canada spent early 2026 in genuine free-fall, with a record single-month drop in March driven by a wave of off-lease inventory outpacing demand. By June, that trend had reversed: CARFAX Canada's data shows used EV prices up 1.1% month-over-month and closing the gap to year-ago levels, even as the broader used vehicle market stayed roughly flat. The reversal isn't uniform — it's concentrated in premium inventory, since affordable entry-level used EVs remain genuinely scarce — but the direction of travel has clearly changed. For buyers who've been waiting for prices to keep sliding, the data suggests that window may be closing.

FAQ

Are used EV prices in Canada rising or falling right now? As of the most recent data (June 2026, reported by CARFAX Canada in August 2026), used EV prices are rising month-over-month — up 1.1% from May to June — after a sharp decline earlier in the year. They remain 1.7% below June 2025 levels, so the multi-year decline hasn't fully reversed, but it has clearly stabilized.

Why did used EV prices stop falling if inventory is still growing? Overall used vehicle inventory grew 15.5% month-over-month in June 2026, but affordable entry-level used EVs specifically remain scarce. Growing supply is concentrated in higher-priced models (particularly Tesla), which pulls the segment average up even without individual vehicles appreciating.

Does this mean cheap used EVs are getting harder to find? Not necessarily harder to find, but they make up a smaller share of the overall used EV inventory increase than premium models do — which is part of why the average price is climbing even as total supply grows. Shop actual current listings for the specific model and price range you want rather than relying on the segment-wide average.

Is now a good time to buy a used EV in Canada? The steep declines that defined early 2026 appear to be over, based on the latest data. Combined with the federal EV sales mandate repeal easing pressure on new-EV discounting, the conditions that were pushing used EV prices down are shifting. See our full mid-year market check for a fuller buy-timing breakdown.

Sources: CARFAX Canada H1 2026 Used Vehicle Market Report, via Repairer Driven News; CARFAX Canada H1 2026 report, via Yahoo Finance/Business Wire; Canadian Auto Dealer, "Used prices stall as EVs slide".