If you scroll through the news today, most of the EV noise is about OEM incentives, bans, and policy. But one of the most interesting moves is happening quietly on the used side of the market.
In the UK, mfldirect — part of Motability Operations and the country’s largest single source supplier of used cars — is opening up its EV data to retailers. It’s a glimpse into the kind of insight we’ll all need if we want to stock, price, and retail used EVs with confidence.
Motability Operations runs the UK’s Motability Scheme, managing one of the country’s largest vehicle fleets and remarketing over 250,000 vehicles a year back into the trade. Their online remarketing channel, mfldirect, is a trade-to-trade platform that sells de-fleeted vehicles directly to dealers, with around 80% of volume sold online and annual turnover in the billions.
Because these vehicles return from structured leases, Motability and mfldirect have:
That scale means their data isn’t just interesting — it’s predictive.
In partnership with Automotive Management, mfldirect is hosting a data-led webinar called “From Forecourt to Forecast: What EV data is really telling us”, positioned as a deep dive into how used-EV demand is shifting on the ground.
They’re drawing on:
The focus isn’t theory — it’s real buyer behaviour: which EVs convert faster, where barriers still block deals, and what dealer actions actually move metal, not just impressions.
Motability Operations has also launched a policy guaranteeing 90% battery health or better on its used EVs. If a dealer tests a car and it falls below the threshold, they can return it at no cost. In the trial, that guarantee drove a 25% increase in EV searches from dealers on the mfldirect platform and brought in stores that had never bought an EV before.
In other words, clear data plus a simple policy unlocked dealer confidence.
Most US dealers don’t have Motability-scale data or a captive EV fleet. But the playbook they’re using is absolutely transferable.
Here’s what I’d borrow from the mfldirect approach and apply to a US used-car department today:
Instead of just “price and miles,” track:
Even if you don’t have Motability’s Transition Tracker, you can still build your own micro-dataset from CRM, lead source, and website behaviour.
Motability’s research shows battery life worry is one of the main reasons drivers hesitate on EVs. If an OEM-level player needs a 90% guarantee to build confidence, it’s a good signal for what retail buyers are thinking on your lot.
That means your EV merchandising should include:
You don’t need a UK-sized fleet to start running a sharper EV game. Here’s a simple framework you can implement this month:
mfldirect’s decision to share EV data with retailers highlights that the top used-car dealers won’t just be “EV-friendly” — they’ll also be data savvy.
EVs bring new risks: depreciation curves, battery confidence, and limited buyer awareness. But they also bring new opportunities for dealers who are willing to measure more than book value and miles.
If you can combine:
You’ll be ahead of the stores still treating EVs like weird trade-ins and hoping they work out.
I’m curious:
Drop a comment or send me a note with what you’re seeing. I’ll keep bringing you real-world insights like this so we can build a better EV used-car playbook together.