Hyundai IONIQ ELECTRIC HATCHBACK

How are electric lease cars delivered?

We have blogged about the delivery of lease cars in the UK because unlike the traditional dealership methods, where you collect a vehicle and receive the handover, vehicles are transported from the PDI centres (pre-delivery inspection) directly to a customer.

This raises all types of queries: Mileage? Cleanliness? Damage? Fuel? For existing leasing customers, the process quickly makes sense, but for any personal or business customers new to it, we do understand there are questions.

We have produced an easy to us guide (and video) on how lease cars are delivered on our CarLease UK website.

But is electric lease car delivery different to other fuel types?

Just before we go on to answer the above, we thought it might be useful to summarise the electric vehicle policies which take effect from April 2020 (and onwards). Under the new budget, the Government have announced:

• The plug-in car grant has been reduced from £3500 to £3000 from 12 March 2020, and cars costing over £50,000 no longer qualify for the grant;
• The grant will be supported until March 2023, with a £532m investment;
• Company car tax rates are to be frozen between 2023 and 2025. For EVs, this means almost no company car tax for the next 5 years;
• All zero-emission vehicles are exempted from the VED (RFL/Road Tax) ‘expensive car supplement’ until 2025;
• Capital allowances will be restricted - only zero emission cars will qualify for 100% first year allowance. This means purchase style products may be less attractive for companies;
• More rapid chargers - £500m will be invested into our electric vehicle infrastructure; and
• From 2021, the Van Benefit Charge (tax enforced on those employees using a van personally) for zero-emission vans is removed.

Should you be concerned whether your new electric lease car will be delivered with enough charge?

The main concern about EV delivery is whether or not there is enough charge in the vehicle to allow the customer to drive home or to a nearby charging facility. 

While electric vehicles are very much on the rise, there is still misleading conjecture and incorrect statements being made. It is therefore important to cut through the nonsense and provide customers with an accurate response.

Before a customer receives an electric car from the e-car lease team, we will discuss some key points, one of which being the availability of a charge point at home or at work. Unlike a hybrid or PHEV, which have the comfort of a combustion engine, an EV relies solely on the electric motor.

If it is not sufficiently charged, the vehicle will not operate. We therefore insist a customer has made the correct provisions for their vehicle and has arranged a home and/or business charging facility. Arranging a home or business charging facility is no longer difficult, or overly expensive, so we do help our customers to have this arranged in advance of delivery.

To help provide additional comfort to customers, many of the EVs now being delivered are taking place via a transported delivery. Unlike the combustion element vehicles, which are driven directly to the customer, electric vehicles are most likely going to arrive on a transporter and with a full charge.

Unless a customer is within 100 miles of the delivery centre, it is unlikely that the vehicle would be driven directly to them. If it is driven, we would insist that the vehicle is charged before handing over to the customer. The last thing we want is for customers to receive vehicles with less than 20% charge!

Due to continued investment into electric infrastructure, we are seeing more and more publicly available charge points in the UK.  According to Zap-Map, there are now over 17,000 devices at 11,000+ locations!

The key to EVs is to conduct your research and prepare. Much of the customer trepidation we see is understandable but all we suggest is that you conduct the necessary research into the proposition and review the comprehensive guides which we offer. Get in touch for more information.

Effectively this just means a little more effort from our business and the customer to make the arrangement a safe and secure one. Ultimately, this is about a customer receiving a finance product and vehicle solution which is suitable for their needs and requirements.

Review: Specification of the Hyundai IONIQ electric hatchback

In terms of the car shown, the Hyundai IONIQ ELECTRIC HATCHBACK 100kW Premium SE 38kWh 5dr Auto  (Pure Electric Vehicle), this is based on the following configuration:

• Polar white Solid Paint
• 16" alloy wheels
• Leather - Dark grey

As standard, the car includes automatic defog system, automatic wipers with rain sensors, heated rear screen. Privacy glass, solar glass, hill start assist, apple car play/android auto, Bluetooth, wireless phone charging pad, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, driver attention alert.

Front and rear parking sensors, lane departure warning system with lane keep assist, parking system with rear view camera. Rear cross traffic alert, 10.25” touchscreen with navigation, auto dimming rear view mirror, electrically adjustable, foldable and heated door mirrors, DAB radio.

Infinity sound system, body coloured externals, automatic headlights, high beam assist, clime control, LED headlights/running lights/rear lights, heated steering wheel, leather upholstery. Interior mood lighting, emergency braking, 60/40 split folding seats, electrically adjustable lumbar support, driver seat memory, heated front and rear seats.

Ventilated front seats, keyless smart entry, push button start, immobiliser and 16” alloy wheels.

On the technical side, company car and business users can note the P11d at £34,876.00 and CO2 at 0g/km. The 38kWh lithium-ion battery will deliver up to 190 miles on a full charge (WLTP), 0-62 times of just under 10 seconds, and a top speed of 100 mph.

To charge the vehicle, the Type 2 port location on the left hand rear side allows 7kW AC charging, and it will take about 6 hours to achieve a full charge. The CCS fast port location will allow just under 50kW DC, enabling a full charge in around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

So, would the Ioniq be your next electric car leasing option? Or would the Nissan Leaf , MG ZS or Mini be for you or your business?

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