In general, the pros for leasing an EV include:

Could be a lower up front cost:

A deposit could start from as little as one month’s rental payments in advance (although 3 months is more typical). – No need for a huge deposit to make PCP costs affordable.

You will not suffer from depreciation:

Buy a new vehicle and it will typically start to depreciate significantly the moment you drive it away. Leasing it insulates you from this.

You can get tax benefits:

EV’s have lower road tax (currently zero). If you are a business user the Benefit in Kind (BIK) cost is also significantly lower. – This could be a material consideration for a lot of company car users.

Full maintenance is an option:

You can choose to include full maintenance – including tyres and servicing etc – (although you can also choose this when leasing a Petrol or Diesel vehicle as well of course).

You usually also get full breakdown cover as part of the lease deal.

Your costs are predictable:

You can budget for the vehicle for the duration of the contract.

You don’t need to worry about future value:

You are not exposed to changes in the resale value of your EV and don’t have to worry about selling it.

This last one is a particularly important point at the moment because pricing of new EV’s is quite volatile and is being affected by the growing volume and availability of EV’s from many manufacturers. This in turn can force the prices of new EV’s down, which in turn could put pressure on their resale values in due course.

There are also recent episodes to consider such as Tesla dropping their prices with no warning. – Not great if you had just bought one at the old price!

The ‘cons’ to be considered when leasing a new EV are pretty much the same as they are for leasing a Petrol or Diesel:

You won’t own the vehicle:

The vehicle will never be yours to own so you typically won’t be able to keep it beyond the leasing agreement.

You may incur over-mileage penalties:

Your leasing contract will include your use of the vehicle for a contracted number of miles per year. If you are over that limit at the end of the lease period, you will be liable to pay an excess mileage charge which is usually calculated as a cost per mile.

Electric Vehicles are more Expensive.

It is a fact that currently EV’s are more expensive than their equivalent internal combustion stable-mates, (in some cases a lot more expensive) and whilst prices are expected to come down significantly as volumes sold increase, we are not there yet.

Despite this, today we have a volatile situation where as a result of the ‘no more Petrol or Diesel sales’ being pushed back to 2035, there may soon be over supply of EV’s for a few years.

This should drive down prices in the short term because many personal buyers may stick to internal combustion for a few more years. However, it may also have an adverse effect on the resale vale of EV’s, making the purchase decision a tricky one if bought on finance via a PCP.

On balance then, whilst it does look like EV’s will ultimately be the future, anyone considering one today should carefully consider the financial implications and how the various options could affect their personal circumstances.

If you want to go electric now, then leasing a vehicle could well turn out to be a safe option.

You might also want to speak to an independent broker such as TYSONCOOPERabout EV’s. They may well have better knowledge of day-to-day availability across a number of different brands and and will be able to work with you to create a shortlist of vehicle options for you to consider.