zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Six Month Microleases Are Finally Getting People To Drive EVs
Six Month Microleases Are Finally Getting People To Drive EVs-August 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:51

A general view of atmosphere during the celebration of the North American debut of the Polestar 3 at The Shed on March 28, 2023 in New York City

The ever-evolving landscape and about going green has forced automakers to get creative with their marketing and . Microleasing, according to , is the latest way to get butts in seats. The whole goal is to just get a prospective EV buyer behind the while they wait a few months for their dream EV to finally hit the market.

Bloomberg kicks off with an example from Polestar; while the highly coveted Polestar 3 has yet to actually arrive at dealerships, the automaker has started to offer microleases on its Polestar 2. For a little as five months, you’ll be able to drive an EV, then swap it in as soon as your desired EV arrives.

And microleasing isn’t the only strategy; other EV makers are opting for things like subscriptions to keep cars moving off their lots, at least for a while. EV inventory is piling up at plenty of dealerships in America as the “early adopter” phenomenon dies down, and plenty of prospective buyers are hesitant to commit to one vehicle when such rapid advancements are being made in the EV tech space. Why buy an EV now when next year you can buy an EV with better range and faster charging capabilities? Microleasing gives a prospective buyer the chance to experience EV life without having to commit to a technology that will become rapidly outdated.

Here’s a little more from Bloomberg:

While short-term setups may not be cheaper than car ownership in the long run, they are helping drivers dodge hefty upfront payments while EV prices and interest rates are still relatively high. There are also more EVs to hold out for than ever. Although the US market now boasts 55 distinct electric models, that number is expected to grow another 20% to 30% next year. New cars in the pipeline include the next iteration of the Hyundai Ioniq and the long-awaited Volkswagen ID.Buzz, as well as a parade of three-row SUVs.

Carmakers and dealers, meanwhile, can use microleases to more easily monetize a growing glut of EV inventory. Philipp Sadek, a principal at Boston Consulting Group, predicts subscriptions and short-term leases could soon account for up to 15% of new car transactions around the world, compared with “low single digits” now. “The car buying process today is still very tedious,” Sadek says. “With this, one moves from ownership to usership.”

In the pre-pandemic era, several automakers introduced subscription leases, which were essentially month-to-month leases that allowed subscribers to pop between vehicles every 30 days — and it didn’t really work. Drivers got tired of figuring out new controls in their cars every few months, and automakers were required to keep a ton of idle inventory on hand in the instance that someone might want to drive that specific car.

But the business model might have just needed to be built on EVs for it to make sense. In the ICE-powered car world, you could trust that, say, your Cadillac XT6 would remain pretty much the same for a few years; it made more sense to opt for a longer lease, then trade your car in when a newer, better model came out. In the EV era, though, massive advancements are made on the regular; a month-to-month lease might just be the perfect thing to convince drivers to make the switch.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
I Think You Need To See What A Zimmer QuickSilver's Trunk Looks Like
I Think You Need To See What A Zimmer QuickSilver's Trunk Looks Like
Hey, glad you could make it. I just wanted to reach out to you because I thought, on the off chance you haven’t encountered it before, you really should see what the inside of a Zimmer QuickSilver’s trunk looks like. I just felt that you had a right to...
Aug 28, 2025
These Are The Greatest Engines Of The Last Decade
These Are The Greatest Engines Of The Last Decade
Time is but a social construct, but as we’ve all decided the 2010s are over, I guess a roundup of the best engines of the decade is in order. We’ve got V10s (duh, because it’s me writing this list), V12s, V8s and four-bangers galore. The 2010s were an interesting bunch...
Aug 28, 2025
Old Land Rover Freaks Have One Of The Weirdest Names For A Car Part I've Ever Heard
Old Land Rover Freaks Have One Of The Weirdest Names For A Car Part I've Ever Heard
Every hardcore automotive subculture defines themselves, at least in part, with their own idiosyncratic jargon. Cars and parts of cars have nicknames and slang terms, knowledge of which helps define who’s in the group, and who’s out. I know in the air-cooled VW community you can hear weird terms...
Aug 28, 2025
The Leaked 2021 Chevrolet Equinox Facelift Doesn't Fix Anything
The Leaked 2021 Chevrolet Equinox Facelift Doesn't Fix Anything
On any given day, the Chevrolet Equinox is as far out of my imagination as the likelihood that I will ever be completely free of debt. But today, the upcoming refreshed has leaked online in China, and it’s pretty terrible. Here is what the Equinox currently looks like: This...
Aug 28, 2025
This Could Be Tesla's First Car Designed In China
This Could Be Tesla's First Car Designed In China
Considering I still don’t know whether to take the reveal seriously or not, Tesla has revealed a new, refreshingly reserved design sketch in an effort to recruit design talent for its plans in China. Tesla just opened its Shanghai Gigafactory, where it plans to build the Tesla Model 3...
Aug 28, 2025
Hyundai Give $110 Million To Electric Delivery Van Company Arrival
Hyundai Give $110 Million To Electric Delivery Van Company Arrival
Not nearly as important to the ecosystem of the American business, but absolutely vital to the UK and other Europeans is the short range delivery van. This commercial van is the lifeblood of small business deliveries all over the Kingdom, and Arrival is among the first to really apply...
Aug 28, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved