Of course most EV drivers lease cars

Of course you would lease, in 3 years you will have better batteries and more choice of cars – like the awesome Porsche Mission E shown above

The market for plug-in vehicles in the United States is dominated by leases, as many EV drivers opt to not buy their vehicles. According to a Bloomberg report, these drivers are often choosing to lease their cars because they believe upcoming models will exceed today’s vehicles in technology and value.

Jeffrey Jablansky, who leased a Chevy Bolt early last year, told Bloomberg he did not consider buying the car.

“I just think in three years I’m going to be delighted at what else is available," said Jablansky, who writes about cars as a freelance journalist. “And we’re going to laugh one day that we used to plug cars in for eight hours at a time."

Instead Jablansky leases his Chevy Bolt for $220 per month.

Excluding Tesla owners, the company is not required to divulge leasing data as it sells its cars directly and not through dealerships, US drivers lease almost 80 per cent of battery EVs and 55 per cent of plug-in hybrids. The lease rate for the entire US fleet of vehicles is about 30 per cent.

“When there’s new technology coming out, and it’s coming out so rapidly, and you’re improving on it so constantly, typically people only want to lease it," Steve Center, a vice president of American Honda Motor Co., told Bloomberg at the 2017 New York Auto Show.

Tim Fleming, analyst with Kelley Blue Book says he believes EV drivers put a high value on driving the latest thing. “Let’s put it this way," he told Bloomberg, “you don’t buy an EV to save money."

Jablansky says he may buy his Chevy Bolt outright when his lease is up, but only if GM hasn’t come out with anything better by then.