I really like the look of the i8 coupe and think it is somewhat of a used car bargain. You can pick up a really good low mileage (less than 40k) for under £35000. However the age of the battery is a concern although BMW's i3 and i8 batteries seem to have lasted extremely well being on a specifically designed carbon platform with battery cooling engineered into the design. The recent govt announcement that all plug in hybrids will have a 1.5 pence per mile surcharge is surely going to reduce the desirability and price of any of these cars in the used market. Fully electric cars will pay 3 ppm. It could also be seen as an opportunity as if you did say 5000 miles a year in it it would only attract an additional cost of £75 per annum on a used hybrid. I'm sure the car buying public won't see it like that and that some bargains may start to appear.
I'm not totally convinced that a per mile charge will impact the EV/Hybrid market that much, the slow down of EV sales is already noticeable over recent months. Most manufacturers are still pushing the EV products, discounts and the likes of salary sacrifice EV schemes will keep these coming to the market. The values after 12/24/26 months are still tragically low, but this is an opportunity for those looking for a used bargain. Used hybrids are interesting, as you say, the battery tech is a huge concern, particularly as they age and drop in effectiveness. If folk are willing to take the risk, or maybe mitigate this with warranties, then there are bargains to be had, especially with the higher end/performance cars. As to the taxing of EV/hybrids, I'm not apposed to that at all, the EV I have uses the same roads and given it's heft, probably contributes more to road degradation than the 15 year old VW Polo next door. I do feel for those who have bought/leased EVs/hybrids and are doing big miles, this might impact the next car choice come 2028.
The thing with a plug in hybrid is that if gov.uk decide to tax the whole mileage, those who do long journeys will be penalised as once your say 30 mile battery has gone then you are being taxed twice.
