Leasing has swiftly taken over the electric-vehicle market. Nearly 80% of new EVs bought at dealerships are now leased, according to Edmunds data cited by The Wall Street Journal.
That’s up from 16% at the beginning of last year, per Edmunds. And it’s at least triple the industry average, which sits around 20%. One caveat: since we’re talking about EVs bought at dealerships, these figures exclude direct-to-consumer EV makers like Rivian, Lucid and (most importantly) Tesla. Tesla tends to push leases less than many conventional brands, too. Since it makes the three best-selling EVs on sale, the full-market figure is likely considerably less than 80%.
Still, the rise of leasing is among the strangest dynamics in today’s EV market, and the long-term impacts could be immense.
I was thinking the same thing… new technology that people don’t trust, so they lease it rather than own it and potential get stuck with a massive repair bill.
Also, the majority of non-Tesla EVa that I have noticed in the midwest are company cars which are generally leased through dealerships.