When depreciation was not yet a big issue
At the time of the Beetle boom in the 1960s, depreciation was still a comparatively negligible issue, as used VW 1200s and VW 1500s were also sought after and popular. Continuity and reliability, but also maintainability (in your own garage) certainly played their part in this favorable development in value, which actually continues to this day, as the millions of Beetles produced today reach collector's prices that are easily ten times the new price at the time.
A lot seems to have changed since the advent of electric cars, especially as there is now almost an oversupply of used plug-in vehicles. Because technology is advancing rapidly at the same time and new suppliers are coming onto the market with attractive offers (and better technology/equipment), sellers of two- or three-year-old electric cars are increasingly stuck with their cars or have to accept large losses in value. After less than three years, the value can easily fall to a third (or less) of the new price.
However, it is not only electric cars that are affected; the loss in value of petrol cars, and even more so of diesel vehicles, can be enormous after just a few years if you want to sell.
What's more, nowadays you're no longer talking about a few thousand marks lost over three years, but quickly tens of thousands of euros or francs. It's then not far to exporting or destroying old cars. And these cars will be missing in 20 or 30 years' time when they finally become classic or vintage cars. If it ever comes to that ...
