Certain shareholders of certain companies should be thinking very carefully about how this affects certain assumptions of certain financial reporting and analyses.
By Mike Ramsey
Consumers aren’t buying electric cars. They’re leasing them.
Experian Automotive, a data research arm of the credit company, reports that 93% of people who obtained an electric car in the fourth quarter of 2012 leased it rather than financed it.
There are good reasons for this trend. Most of the companies that sell electric cars are offering much lower monthly payments to customers who lease Nissan Motor Co. 7201.TO -0.18%has been offering a $199-a-month lease on its Leaf electric car. Mass market rivals are offering similar deals on their electrics General Motors Co. GM +0.86%is offering a $269 a month, three-year lease on its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt.
The sticker price for most of the electric cars is north of $30,000 and even with a hefty $7,500 federal tax credit, the monthly payment is hundreds of dollars a month higher than for a lease. Tesla Motors Inc. earlier this year began offering a lease-like financing deal aimed at dropping the monthly payments for its $70,000 and up Model S sedans.
Leasing an electric car also insulates the customer from long-term costs associated with replacing tired batteries. A lease represents a bet that in three years, electric car batteries may offer longer driving range at a lower price.
I’m talking about TSLA
If you enjoy the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on Twitter
Exactly. And in 3 years when those batteries hold half of the charge they do now (think cell phones), you upgrade…to a reliable traditional petro motor…OR possibly natty gas.
Excluding wealthy and trendy people buying for non economic reasons- I wonder how well thought out EVs are for most people? Of course if they buy them, who cares?
But- it is more than just making the gas station visit go away. I think the behind the scenes costs will come home to roost on the end user at some point.
My modest vehicle does about 30 to 35 miles a gallon average, and that seems reasonable to me. I think a lot of the unhappiness the masses have with gas powered vehicles is self inflicted- lead foot idiot drivers. I see drivers burn what must be 1/4 gallon for no reason, and when I’m coasting downhill, many drivers zoom past me and give me an annoyed look.
The leasing companies keep the tax credits, and then the major manufacturers, by selling some zero emission vehicles, avoid having to pay Tesla for ZEV credits in states like California.
amateurs
bet ya grandma still ridin horse n buggy
It