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Nissan recently entered the pool of automakers offering certified pre-owned electric vehicles, joining brands like Chevrolet and Tesla, whose respective Volt and Roadsters are already available as CPO units.

And there may be more on the way.

Larry Dixon, senior manager of market intelligence at NADA Used Car Guide, said he believes other automakers will follow the lead of Chevy, Nissan and Tesla.

He emphasized that “certifying EVs helps to mitigate two important hurdles facing these vehicles: lower monthly payments through promotional finance rates, and assuaging concerns over longevity/durability by extending the warranty.”

Cars.com executive editor Joe Wiesenfelder said he sees “no reason” other brands with EV offerings wouldn’t join the fray of electric CPO offerings.

“The federal tax credit knocks EV lease payments down to very attractive levels, and wherever there’s leasing, there’s a steady supply of low-mileage, good-condition vehicles to feed CPO programs,” he noted.

But with a growing crop of  CPO EVs, there are few things both automakers and dealers should keep in mind.

Edmunds.com senior analysts Joe Spina boiled down a few of these.

“As EVs and other alternate-fuel vehicles make their way to the secondary market, it is critical manufacturers partner with dealers to create a full-circle new sales, remarketing, used sales and service process. And not as an afterthought,” Spina said.

“With the high cost of new alt-fuel vehicles, leasing will be instrumental in moving these vehicles off the lot,” he continued. “A plan needs to be in place for dealers to reacquire them and retail these vehicles in a way that reduces consumer risk and instills confidence on their purchase. Part of this plan needs to address the issue of charging station availability and installation.”

More on Used EV Demand

So how are consumers reacting to having more EV options in the used and CPO market?

Dixon shared a bit more about where he sees consumer demand for EVs in the used-car market. It’s been a bit slow at first, but change could be on the horizon.

“Judging by the high rate of EV depreciation, demand for used EVs has been rather tepid. EV prices have depreciated at a rate near 30 percent this year — more than two times the rate of decline for similar gas-powered cars. There are a number of reasons for this: very high new vehicle incentives, stable gas prices, high cost relative to a comparable gas or traditional hybrid vehicle, range anxiety, and fear of new technology,” Dixon said in mid-September.

“That being said, over the past two months trade-in value losses for the two senior EVs on the market — the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf — have generally been less than what was recorded in the prior two-month period,” he continued. “This slower rate of decline has been particularly evident on the Nissan Leaf.”

Consider this, Dixon added: trade-in values for the LEAF in the June/July editions of the Officials Used Car Guide were downwardly adjusted an average of 3.6 percent. That decline slowed to just 1.2 percent (on average) for the August and September editions.

“This indicates that Leaf values are now reaching levels low enough to stimulate demand from used-car shoppers (i.e. there is enough room between new prices less the fed tax credit and used prices such that consumers feel that the value in buying pre-owned outweighs the benefits of buying new),” he explained.

When asked how this particular move will help Nissan dealers in the overall CPO market, Dixon said that the benefit will come more in the sense of lifting LEAF demand in general.

“As far as helping Nissan dealers in the certified market, it will be of some benefit, but considering the fact that the LEAF’s volume is low relative to other Nissan models it won’t do much to grow a dealer’s certified business. That said, the move should benefit LEAF demand, especially since Nissan is extending the coverage on the battery system to seven years/100,000 miles — this address consumer concerns regarding new technology, longevity and durability,” he suggested.

“In addition, the more favorable finance rates available for CPO purchases will make the monthly payment more affordable (partially compensating for the higher upfront cost),” Dixon added.

When asked if dealers are seeking more fuel-efficient options to sell as CPO, he had this to say.

“As far as dealer demand is concerned, dealers remain hungry for clean units with reasonable mileage. While efficiency is certainly important, dealers need a broad selection of vehicle types to cater to a diverse set of consumer needs. Right now, fuel-efficient compact and midsize cars are more readily available than later model utilities, and in particular, pickups.”

AutoTrader.com says it has seen interest go up substantially for both used and certified electrics. Although they tend to favor CPO EVs than used EVs, there have been “huge strides” made by the class of used EVs in the past year, AutoTrader said.

Putting some numbers to this, AutoTrader said that certified electrics, relative to interest among all certified units, saw their interest on the site climb 22 percentage points from January to August.

Used EVs, meanwhile, showed a 40-percentage-point-gain relative to all used vehicles during the same time frame.

That does come with a caveat, as AutoTrader points out that the larger percentage-point change in consumer interest for used electrics happened due to them starting at a “significantly lower starting point in interest.” The company added that in August, interest for CPO EVs was 54 percentage points higher than that of used EVs.

“In some areas, EVs are selling really well. Certifying the LEAF will move more used LEAF sales away from private parties and independent dealers and into new Nissan dealers. The market for used EVs will only get bigger as more and more EVs are built and sold, and this gives Nissan dealers a way to capitalize on a growing trend,” said Brian Moody, site editor at AutoTrader.com.

“It makes sense that used and CPO electric cars would have strong consumer interest, as most consumers will see a used EV as a way of saving money on gas without having to pay a price premium at the time of purchase,” he added.

“The greater interest in CPO versus used shows that mainstream consumers (not early adopters) are beginning to accept EVs and plug-in hybrids but are still slightly weary of a technology they don't completely understand. A manufacturer's warranty seems to be the reassurance they need.”

Editor's Note: This analysis is part of a story that ran in the Oct. 15-31 print and digital editions of Auto Remarketing, which are available now.

Joe Overby can be reached at joverby@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.