Two of the leaders in the used electric vehicle space have teamed up to take used EVs from consumers and sell them to dealers.

Plug, which is an online wholesale auction specifically for used EVs, has partnered with Recurrent to be the exclusive wholesale partner for the EV analytics provider’s consumer-facing “Sell with Recurrent” program.

In essence, Plug will purchase consumer vehicles listed on the Sell with Recurrent platform and then sell them to dealers.

Here’s how that works.

Plug uses VIN-level data and EV-specific criteria – like battery health, software-enabled features, charging network access and federal tax credit eligibility – to evaluate each vehicle and quickly make an “accurate, market-rate” offer to the consumer seller on Recurrent’s platform.

The company aggregates real-time buying activity from its dealer network, allowing it to provide the consumer with that competitive offer in less than an hour.

Plug buys the EV from the Recurrent customer and then relists the car on its wholesale auction, indicating the vehicle as being sourced from Recurrent.

When the car is sold, it is transported from the consumer to the dealer.

“Recurrent customers want to sell their EVs quickly with a competitive offer to a buyer that really understands EVs,” Recurrent CEO and co-founder Scott Case said in a news release. “Integrating Plug delivers fast, firm pricing to our customers backed by a strong network of EV specialist dealers. This partnership gives our users a seamless, confident selling experience.”

Recurrent launched its Sell with Recurrent program in October 2023 and had been managing the consumer-to-dealer sales process itself. The company estimated there was about two dozen dealer groups buying through the program. The company said it has sold about $10 million’s worth of EVs so far through Sell with Recurrent, most of that happening within the last six months.

Bringing in Plug can significantly expand the number of dealers buying those consumer-sourced EVs, as there are more than 500 dealers in its network.

“This partnership expands access to quality EV inventory for our dealer network and reinforces Plug’s position as the most efficient path to transact used EVs,” Plug founder and CEO Jimmy Douglas said. “By integrating directly with Recurrent, we’re making it easier than ever for dealers to source vehicles backed by real-time, EV-specific data that enables confident pricing and lightning-fast transactions.”

Douglas added, “When dealers can acquire used EVs with zero ambiguity around EV-specific value-driving factors, they can confidently bid to match their market’s pricing and velocity dynamics, leading to more aggressive competition for the best units.

“That’s why the same inventory performs better on Plug than on legacy platforms, and why we can bid on Recurrent customer trade-ins so competitively.”