One car leasing executive said their company, a household name, was currently losing “thousands” of pounds on every EV it sold into the used market.
The BVRLA’s members are currently the biggest buyers of EVs in the country.
Of the 4m EVs they collectively own, roughly 2.75m are leased through finance deals such as salary sacrifice or company car schemes.
Rising depreciation costs will force them to raise prices for consumers to compensate, potentially hurting demand for new cars further and constraining the pipeline of EVs into the used car market further at a time when the Government is seeking to boost uptake.
Mr Keaney said: “We need to accelerate the take up by consumers of used EVs and therefore new EVs in the marketplace. To do that, we’re going to need to have some targeted incentives. That’s just the plain truth.”
The BVRLA has launched a campaign calling for market stimulus, including potentially a VAT cut or grants for used car buyers.
It is the latest example of the car industry sounding the alarm as the growth of the EV market slows.
The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which represents car makers in the UK, has also called for tax breaks to boost EV demand.
This month the lobby group reiterated that the industry is on course to miss the targets set by the Government’s zero emission vehicle mandate, which requires 22pc of sales to be electric from this year and rises to 80pc by 2030.
Manufacturers can avoid fines of £15,000 for every non-compliant car that exceeds this quota by acquiring and spending carbon credits, however.
The Government has said it does not expect any companies to pay fines in the scheme’s first year.