Top reasons to lease an electric car

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Author: | Updated: 03 Mar 2021 10:12

Two-thirds of people expect electric cars to be the norm and referred to simply as cars by the year 2030, according to Go Ultra Low. Meanwhile, the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles is also set to be banned from as early as 2032.

But forget about 2030 or 2032. We’ve seen electric vehicle lease enquiries rocket this year thanks to vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 and Renault Zoe. With so much interest, we’ve looked at the reasons why NOW might be the ideal time for even more people to make the leap into leasing an electric car.

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There’s more choice and they’re more affordable than ever

That’s right. There’s more choice than ever before. With the sheer range of electric vehicles on the market – from new premium launches such as the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model 3 to more established vehicles like the Nissan Leaf – prices have naturally become more competitive.

Currently on Leasing.com, the best value deal electric vehicle is the Renault Zoe, which is currently available for around £200 per month. The cheapest is the Smart Fortwo Coupe, which can be snapped up for under £150 per month. That’s around one-tenth of the price of Porsche Taycan.

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Charging is cheaper than refuelling

As if that wasn’t enough, a further saving is made in the running costs. Recent research from Direct Line compared five different EVs and their internal combustion engine equivalents and found that refuelling costs for EVs are up to 58% cheaper, saving drivers up to £481 a year.

Tax and maintenance was also cheaper by 49%, saving up to £216 a year. Although, for transparency, we’d like to add that it also found that insurance is likely to be more expensive by around 25%, or £234 a year more expensive. You can’t win them all. All in, EVs are still a lot cheaper to run than petrol or diesel vehicles.

EV range is longer than ever before

Audi e-tron - trim levels

With electric vehicle technology developing quickly to meet customer demand, the range of the battery has grown quickly, with the likes of the Audi e-tron and Hyundai Kona now offering 259 and 279 miles respectively. So while the first EVs to market didn’t necessarily give a lot of drivers peace of mind, the current crop of EVs have done their best to ease range anxiety.

Last year, the UK had three charging points per 100km on road network, or 62 miles as we say in the UK. The AA reports that 95% of daily car journeys are under 25 miles, while the range of current EVs varies from as low as 69 miles in the Smart Forfour EQ to 379 miles in the Tesla Model S Long Range.

This is more than enough to tackle the average car journey as well as get to a charging point without range anxiety becoming a big issue. Charge points are increasing too. ZapMap reports there are currently 11,926 public charging points, 19,052 devices and 33,063 connections. Year-on-year, the number of connectors is increasing. Between 2018 and 2019, there was a 50% increase as a further 10,000 connections were added.

You can avoid any depreciation concerns

A car will start losing money the minute it’s driven off the forecourt. This knowledge is as old as the automobile itself. But one of the many perks of leasing has always been the fact that you don’t have to worry about that.

When the first wave of electric vehicles came to market, residual values were not great. Part of this was to do with a small second-hand market, another reason was a lack of understanding around the tech, while some models such as the Renault Zoe saw buyers leasing the battery even if they owned the car.

As we’re now arguably in the second-generation of mass-EV uptake they have begun to hold their value much better. That is why the aforementioned deals on the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model 3 and others are in-line with their traditional ICE counterparts. Even so, leasing removes any of these concerns.

EV leasing is an easy way to test the water

Electric cars are soon to become the new norm. But how do you know if they’ll suit your current lifestyle requirements? Buying a car is a big commitment. But if you lease an electric vehicle for a couple of years, it’s a very easy, affordable way to find out whether you can live with one long term.

While leasing an EV now doesn’t mean you were necessarily the first to have one, it does mean you’re at the crest of the wave and driving the best and most accomplished EVs there has ever been on the market.

Compare all electric vehicle deals

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