On MotorTrend's The Inevitable podcast, the hosts sit down with Jimmy Douglas, CEO of Plug Motors, to talk about something that sounds dull and turns out not to be: a flood of used electric vehicles about to reach dealer lots. Douglas says roughly 1.1 million EVs will come back off lease over the next three years, the delayed result of a leasing boom that took hold in 2023. Add gas prices the hosts put above $4.50 a gallon during the recording, and the show frames a rare moment. Cars that many dealers did not want a year ago are suddenly the ones shoppers are chasing. Plug Motors, which Douglas founded in 2023, sells those used EVs to dealers rather than directly to consumers.
Industry forecasters put hard numbers on the same wave Douglas describes. CDK Global projects more than 300,000 EVs will come off lease in 2026 alone, over 200% more than in 2025, a surge that traces back to the Inflation Reduction Act's leasing loophole, which let dealers pass the $7,500 federal credit to almost any lessee regardless of where the car was built. Cox Automotive data, cited by Autotrader, shows used EV wholesale values actually rising year over year even as supply climbs, with used EV days' supply tightening rather than ballooning. There is a buyer angle the podcast only touches: most 2022 and 2023 returns still carry the federally mandated eight-year battery warranty, which is the real reason a three-year-old EV can be a safer used purchase than its steep discount suggests. Warranty coverage, not just price, is what makes this wave worth watching.
Douglas tells the hosts Plug runs a wholesale auction where every buyer is a dealer, sourcing cars from automakers, lenders, fleets, and consumers, then reselling them, often the next day. He says the company crossed $100 million in all-time sales and is moving somewhere between 320 and 350 cars a month at an average value near $35,000. On buying advice, he says the first question is whether you can charge at home, and if you cannot, he points to a vehicle that can use the Tesla Supercharger network. He cites used Model 3s under $20,000 and Model Ys under $25,000 as examples of the value on offer, while flagging older, slow-charging cars, he mentions early Chevy Bolts and the Mercedes EQB, as ones to weigh carefully. On battery worries, he references a Tesla figure of roughly 85 to 88% capacity retention at 200,000 miles. All figures are as presented on the show.
Bottom line: If you have wanted an EV and can charge at home, the next two years are set up in your favor, and this interview is a useful map of why. The catch is that flooding the market is good for buyers and rough on anyone holding an EV they plan to sell, so if that is you, moving sooner beats waiting. Treat any used EV as a battery first and a car second: get a state-of-health readout, confirm what warranty transfers, and let the discount do the rest. The deals are real, but they reward homework.
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