The entrepreneur building a marketplace for used EVs

With four and a half minutes left on the clock, Plug CEO Jimmy Douglas had complete confidence that the 22 used electric vehicles up for sale on his company’s online auction would sell for a reasonable price.

Three of the 22 vehicles still had zero bids. “Those things are gonna sell,” he said. “Most of these auctions don't really start heating up until the last five minutes of the day — that's when dealers really start getting aggressive.”

Plug is an online marketplace built specifically for used electric vehicles. Douglas, who used to be director of sales and delivery operations at Tesla, saw a need for a platform that could help dealers accurately price and sell pre-owned electric vehicles, which are much more defined by software and battery technology than internal combustion engines.

“It's a transformative asset, and it's not so straightforward as replicating the old playbook,” he said. “They need to know exactly how to properly evaluate the vehicle for how much money it's worth, and then how to merchandise it and confidently sell it.”

Prices are up 7% year over year, according to Cox Automotive. That’s thanks in part to higher gas prices steering people away from combustion engine cars. Meanwhile, the market for new EVs has slowed since Republican-led legislation ended Biden-era tax credits.

Part of the bet that Douglas and his venture capital investors are making is that the used EV market will continue to grow and create more demand for this specialized wholesale auction platform.

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Douglas at Plug’s headquarters in Los Angeles during the final thirty minutes of the company’s daily online used EV auction. Click the audio player above to hear their conversation.