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Looking to buy an electric car but not sure what battery lease is on the advert means? Well, keep reading and we will explain what this means for you.
A battery lease can be a confusing arrangement. Basically you purchase the car as you normally would but with one catch. The car manufacturer still owns the battery and you pay a monthly fee for it.
The fee you pay will vary largely on the distance you want to travel per year. For example, the Renault Zoe ranges from £49 per month for up to 4500 miles per year. This goes up to £99 for 10,500 annually. This cost will be similar to the fuel for a conventional car.
Renault was the biggest advocate of this along with Nissan. This came about because in the early days of electric cars people were more worried about how long these batteries would last. Of course, many batteries deteriorate at around 2% per year so these concerns have been proven wrong. This has led to the phasing out of battery leasing simplifying the used EV market.
Those who still own one of these EV’s now have the option to buy it outright.
The main models that featured this style of battery were the Renault Zoe, Kangoo, and Nissan Leaf’s Flex variant.
Battery leasing is not all bad. In some cases it can actually be a lot more affordable depending on your needs and financial situation. Firstly this is because of the overall price of the car being brought down. By opting for a leased option you’ll save around £5000 over the equivalent car with a battery.
This deal also guarantees the condition of your power pack. Whilst electric batteries do deteriorate over time you will be safe in the knowledge that the manufacturer will replace it once it degrades past a certain level. Typically this is at around 60-75% of the original capacity.
Another benefit is that many of these deals also come with breakdown cover as part of the package. This will save you a further £100 per year covering two payments if you were on the lowest level of the Zoe’s battery cost.
There are a few points you’ll want to bear in mind before buying an EV with a leased battery. Firstly you have to pay every month. You’ll never be able to stop payments. Even if you stop driving it for a while. Also, as the seller you are responsible for ensuring that payments are passed over to the new owner.
The payment remains the same throughout. There is no discount as the battery ages or the efficiency drops.
Given the recurring cost associated and the challenge of passing it along some dealers can be a little nervous about buying a car with a leased battery.
Also, if your financial situation takes a bad turn and you miss payments it is possible to remotely disable the battery until you are up to date.
Conclusion
So, is an electric car with a leased battery the best solution for you? Maybe. It will all depend on your personal situation. How many miles you are driving and what your financial situation is.
Just remember to make sure you know what you are buying and what is involved. Do your due diligence at the start and you will be perfectly fine.
