Will there be affordable EVs to lease?

Will there be affordable EVs to lease?

The continued push towards an electric-only motoring environment in the UK is fairly self-evident. Almost every news article and car article, which isn’t COVID related, is now concentrating on the next stage of electrification - cars, vans, charge points, charging infrastructure and company car tax. Within all of this, there have been some resounding “themes”, which are essentially bringing customer concerns and queries to all of the industry’s attention.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues which is being raised is that of cost - are electric vehicles just too expensive for the average consumer? Perhaps the latest electric products to be announced - Audi Q4, Audi e-Tron GT, BMW iX and Tesla Model X - are not particularly affordable propositions for some customers. Costing between £50,000 - £120,000, they can offer some eye-watering monthly lease rentals!

Many manufactures have started off with flagships models which are distinctive and which offer a great motoring experience; many of the latest electric cars are aesthetically superior to the combustion ones. What we are also seeing is a move towards economies of scale. The main component of any EV is the battery (and this ultimately reflects one of the major costs). The initial investment which manufacturers have made for battery production is significant and this leads to an absolute necessity for a return on the investment (while raising their profile).

This is only achievable via some of the more highly-price car options. The other obvious point is that cars need to big enough to accommodate enough batteries in order to provide a feasible range; the general rule of thumb is that the bigger the car, the bigger the battery size will be. Of course, this leads to a higher cost to the end user. One of the initial concerns would be if smaller and more affordable cars were pushed, these cars would not have an adequate electric range. This would effectively scare customers away from electric driving.

We have already seen that Tesla have been one of the most consistently bestselling vehicles manufacturers for the last 18 months. Indeed their Model 3 Long Range is being adopted by many personal and business users. Much of this can be credited to the WLTP full range of 350+ miles. The UK’s general public are very much concentrating on cars which can offer 300 miles (although range is not everything!)

Are electric cars cheap?

However, the good news is that more affordable EVs are very much in production after some of the more luxury and prestige product has been launched. Not every customer is a company car user or is an individual with a £500 per month (and above) budget. The introduction of the Vauxhall Corsa-e and Mokka-e together with the Peugeot e-208 and e-2008 are a true indication that the market will be more than just a Tesla or Audi or Porsche.

VW too have pushed more affordable options via their Id3 and Id4 which are effective replacements to the Golf and Tiguan. As per the car shown, Renault have also been instrumental in cost-effective city car electric car options and also van options via their Kangoo. These are true sub-£200 per month leasing options for customers to consider. However, what we also stress with customers is that the price paid month on the lease is not the only factor to take into consideration.

Running a car needs what we call a “whole of life cost” analysis. By this we mean that operating a vehicle is more than just the finance cost, you also must take into account the servicing/maintenance/tyres aspects of the car while also adding into the calculation your annual fuel and insurance costs. For company car drivers/companies operating fleets, there are elements relating to Benefit In Kind (BiK), effective rentals and national insurance contributions which help provide context on the price actually being paid by all parties.

Unlike comparing a petrol and/or diesel vehicle to another combustion option, the electric form of fuel is now opening up more conversation on our automotive and general lifestyles. We are now seeing conversations surrounding solar panels/tiles, heat pumps and hydrogen. Not to mention new energy suppliers like Octopus Energy and Electric Vehicles offering comprehensive electric car + charger + energy deals. The way in which we buy or lease cars is very much changing and what we consider as “cheap” is changing with it, as we move towards more sustainable and environmentally-friendly motoring.

Renault Zoe ELECTRIC HATCHBACK 100kW i GT Line R135 50kWh Rapid Charge 5dr Auto

In terms of the car shown, the Renault Zoe ELECTRIC HATCHBACK 100kW i GT Line R135 50kWh Rapid Charge 5dr Auto (Pure Electric Vehicle),

This is based on the following configuration:

• Special Metallic paint
• Synthetic leather/fabric (recycled) - Black/Grey
• 16" Diamond cut alloy wheels with Michelin tyres

As standard the car includes rain sensing wipers, heated rear windscreen, tinted rear windows, hill start assist, cruise control, lane keeping assistant.

Traffic sign recognition, 10” drive information display, electrically operated heated and folding door mirrors, steering wheel mounted controls, body coloured externals.

Synthetic leather upholstery, fog lights, LED headlamps, technology pack, split-folding seats, immobiliser and the RAID alarm system.

In terms of additional options, consider adding the winter pack or BOSE pack.

On the technical side, company car and business-users can note the P11d at £35,040.00 and CO2 at 0g/km. The 52kWH lithium-ion battery delivers a winter range of around 160 miles and a combined mild-weather range of circa 220 miles.

The WLTP range is noted as 239 miles but this is seasonally and driver-style dependent. In terms of performance, the car will offers 0-62 times of 9.5 seconds, top speed of 87mph with 134ps.

In terms of charging times, a domestic 7.4kW charge point will get 0-100% in around 8 hours and 30 mins or, as he car can fast charge AC, will take 3 hours when connected to a 22kW charge point.

The Renault Zoe is limited to 46kW DC rapid charging, so this means you cannot charge at a faster rate. When connected to a standard 50kW DC charger, this will achieve 10-80% charging in just under 60 minutes.

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