Why do you think there will be a lower value depreciation for a Chinese EV than a Toyota? Toyotas have insane resale value. We bought a 2012 Toyota 4Runner used for $30,000 in 2016. KBB on it now, at 12 years old and 130,000 miles, is still $15-18k.

> Why do you think there will be a lower value depreciation for a Chinese EV than a Toyota?

Because it's cheaper to buy and cheaper to drive.

Let's start with your example (12 years, 130K miles, 50% depreciation). Let's assume that the EV depreciates much more (80%):

Corolla value depreciation = $11K

BYD Value depreciation: $12K

From a purely financial perspective, it doesn't mean to invest $22K instead of $15K for a $1K gain after 12 years.

Now the calculation above does not take the energy costs into account [1]:

Petrol cost @ 130K miles = $20K

Electric cost @ 130K miles = $4.5K

[1] https://avt.inl.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/fsev/costs.pdf

Nailed it, that's the point. I don't know why people love cars that last forever, even if financially it doesn't make sense for the first owner.

Because they’re emotionally tied to the idea of longevity vs service life.

>Yes, but there is no incentive for Person A to choose a brand new Corolla when it's $22K and the alternative is $15K

"Hey I know Corollas last a while, and wtf is this weird-ass company I've never heard of? I'm sticking with Toyota."

^ Incentive enough.

In a few years it'll be like "Oh, it's BYD, they're everywhere right now, of course I'll buy it second hand".