Getting More Precise EV Values with Black Book and Range Score

Early resale values for electric vehicles (EV) have often been determined by criteria from the combustion engine era, prioritizing metrics like odometers that do not correspond well to battery aging.  

Industry vehicle valuation, data and analytics firm Black Book selected us to collaborate on the first EV-specific valuation influenced by battery condition. Since a battery is the most expensive part of an EV, and it naturally degrades over time, car buyers can now make informed decisions based on expected range today and projected range in the future.

Black Book’s vehicle valuation is combined with Recurrent’s new Range Score value, which uses modeling from 100 million recorded EV miles, to make value adjustments for good batteries. The new partnership is a step toward adding transparency to a rapidly growing used EV market that includes more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S.

"Recurrent’s adoption of Black Book data will provide EV owners further insight into the real-time value of their vehicles,” said Jared Kalfus, President of Black Book. “This integration is the first of its kind for EV battery valuations, and we are thrilled to have been selected to power it.” 

“We founded Recurrent with the mission to give confidence to used EV buyers, and a lot of that starts with the price tag,” said Scott Case, CEO and co-founder of Recurrent. “The combination of Recurrent’s battery insights and Black Book’s auto market expertise looks a lot like the change that we originally hoped to see.”

EV-Specific Valuations for Owners

Starting today on our site, many EV models can get a free Range Score and vehicle valuation, backed by data from Black Book. These EV-specific valuations can be turned into premium offers from EV specialist car dealerships around the country as part of the new Sell with Recurrent program.

For EV owners who are looking to sell, Recurrent will share their Range Score with dealerships and organize the offers so it is easy to compare and select a buyer. Individual EV owners can also use Range Score when selling their car to a private buyer.

EV owners that are not ready to sell today can connect their car to receive ongoing battery insights, wellness monitoring and get updated assessments of their car over time, comparing it to hundreds or thousands of similar cars. Over 50 vehicle makes and models are supported in the U.S.

Range Score for Car Dealerships

The battery is often a black box for used car shoppers. Recurrent’s new Range Score makes it easier to understand expected range in a used EV by comparing a car’s current expected range to what was normal when new, which often differs from its EPA-rated range. EPA range estimates are rarely accurate in real-world conditions because automakers apply their own adjustment factors to the raw EPA results, and even change those adjustment factors later.

More than 50 dealerships have added Recurrent’s Range Scores to their used EV inventory. More detailed EV reports, called Recurrent Reports, are also available to share information with car buyers on battery warranties, expected range in different conditions and how range is projected to change after three years of ownership. Early results indicate that vehicles with Recurrent Reports can sell for thousands of dollars more than those without and create a much better buyer experience by setting the right expectations around range. 

Today this is only available in the U.S. and eligible vehicle models include Chevrolet Bolt, Chevrolet Volt, Nissan LEAF, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X and Tesla Model Y.

‍