Almost 80 Percent of Electric Cars Are Leased, Report Says

If you’re thinking about buying a new Tesla Model 3, Chevrolet Bolt, or Nissan Leaf, you might want to consider leasing instead.

Nearly 80 percent of all EVs in the U.S. are leased, not owned, according to a recent report by Bloomberg. It also says around 55 percent of plug-in hybrids are leased.

According to the story, only 1 percent of the global market has gone electric—and the number is much smaller in the U.S.

It seems logical that savvy plug-in types prefer to lease EVs instead of owning them so that they can trade them in for new models every few years as the technology improves.

Monthly leases for a peppy little Fiat 500e can be had for as little as $182 a month, while the BMW 530e goes for around $600 a month.

Because of the current imbalance of leasing versus owning, it’s actually a deal to buy a used EV. They tend to sell for much less than secondhand ones that run on gas. Of course, you won’t get the $7,500 federal tax credit, but you can find EVs for a fraction of their original sticker price.

A recent search on Craigslist in Los Angeles yields used, low-mileage and late-model Nissan Leafs in the $5,000 to $7,000 range.

A 2018 Leaf starts at $30,875 and offers up to 150 miles on a charge, and a longer-range version with around 225 miles is on the way. Compare that to a range of 107 miles on the previous Leaf. Still, the old model can be a good deal if you don’t mind being a plug-in pioneer.

The report also states that three years from now, a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt will be a bargain. There’s no doubt about that, but why buy a Chevy when you can lease a Porsche Mission E by then instead?

Source: Bloomberg