Your definitive guide to leasing an electric car personally

Leasing an electric car personally-your definitive guide

The immeasurable benefits to a business / company leasing an all-electric car are somewhat accepted. In our recent guide to business EV leases and company cars, we set out what companies need to know when considering their next steps with regards to electrifying their fleets.

But moving away from BCH and salary sacrifice, the key questions about personal leases and electric cars does need some consideration; mainly because the corporation tax savings, VAT saving and company car tax savings do not apply. But that doesn’t mean private individuals should not be looking into electric transport - it’s more about customers moving into this in an educated and concerted way. If UK personal leasing customers are educated on the assets and process, then the e-car team believe that the EV lease is worth it!

Can you do a personal lease on a new EV?

Absolutely. At e-car lease our primary method of funding is contract hire although we do sometimes offer Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) options too. Personal contract hire, or personal leasing, is the same as the business equivalent in that this is a usership product where you organise a long-term rental of the EV.

As such, this isn’t suitable if you wish to purchase your car - products like hire purchase or a car-specific bank loan would be more suitable for your needs and requirements. It’s easy to construct a leasing quote on our EV website, electric car lease, with customers simply having to:

•  Select a Term - 24 / 36 / 48 months (the longer the rental period, the cheaper the monthly is BUT ending a contract hire agreement can be inflexible with early termination penalties applicable plus you need to take into account the warranty period too);  
•  Select an Initial Rental - 1 / 3 / 6 / 9 /12 (the amount you pay in month 1 can be factored into your needs and requirements. The overall cost of the lease - the total amount payable - is the same regardless of what you choose. This is just down to your budgeting and personal preference);
• Select an Annual Mileage - while our website shows 5,000 to 20,000 per annum, more is available on request (as the mileage will impact your cost, ensure this is set to what you are likely to cover as excess mileage fees are payable if the EV if returned beyond that total amount but you receive no rebate where the EV is refunded under-mileage);
•  Select a maintenance position - Yes to include or no to exclude (with leasing you can elect to maintain, service and replace the tyres at your own cost OR, for an additional monthly cost, add this to your contract to include all of these facets. EVs are generally cheaper to maintain but they still need some expenditure); and
• Select a charge point position - Yes for info or No to say not required (with our EV deals you do not get a charge point included and where you have a drive or off-road parking solution, we do suggest an external charge point is utilised).  

Is personal contract hire the best route for my new EV?

Based on your answers to the above, you will receive a monthly price based on the vehicle (and specification) you require. In general, the more expensive the EV, and the more options you add, the more money you will pay. While we do operate special offers and deals which can make more expensive cars better value, in the normal course of business the value of the car is instrumental to your budget.

With electric cars being a set of batteries and a motor, it’s crucial you consider this more in-depth as opposed to being concerned with just the aesthetics, ergonomics and features. This is why our “Electric Vehicle Comparison” tools are so crucial to you, as this helps a customer select the BEST BEV for their requirements. You can quickly understand which will offer the best range, charging, acceleration or towing capacity for you. Remember, not all electric cars are equal and the facets on each can vary significantly.

And is personal leasing the best finance product for a new electric car?

With us being a credit broker, not a lender or dealership, the e-car team have two fundamental tasks - 1) To help you to understand what contract hire and leasing is; and 2) To help you to understand how the new EV will perform based on certain metrics and features.

There are some incredible advantages to leasing including the ability to return the vehicle (with zero deprecation concerns), higher levels of discounts compared to purchase routes and the ability to have more all-encompassing packages including maintenance and even motor insurance.

But leasing is not perfect and there are cons to using the leasing method like excess mileage penalties for going outside the contract mileage, early termination penalties for ending the contract before the agreed term, the inability to extend or purchase the EV in some solutions and the initial credit stage can be difficult if you have mixed or more complicated credit. This is a prime credit solution and is not suitable if you have bad credit.

The amazing thing about the e-car website is that we produce all of this to you in writing, with every part of the electrification journey being adequately detailed before, during and after the sale. While we have thousands of happy pure-electric customers, your decision to join them should be based on objective facts and clear information. If you aren’t sure or you need assistance just let the electric car experts know. 

In terms of the car shown, the  Volkswagen ID.3 ELECTRIC HATCHBACK 107KW Life Pro 58kWh 5dr Auto (Pure Electric Vehicle) , this is based on the following configuration:

•  Metallic Paint - Glacier White
•  Fragment design cloth - Platinum grey/Soul black
•  18" Aero steel wheels
•  Type 2 charging cable (Suitable for Public charging and home wallbox charger – Fast charging)

So is a VW ID3 a perfect EV to lease personally?

This option uses a 58 kWh usable battery which will deliver 150kW (or 201hp), 0 - 62 times of 7.3 seconds and top speeds of 99mph. Combined real ranges are at 180 miles in cold weather and 250 miles in warmer weather (on a full charge). In terms of charging times / capabilities - the standard  11 kW AC max allows a 0 - 100% session in around 6 hours and 15 mins with the 124 kW DC rapid charge enabling 31 minutes 10 - 80% times. There is a 385L cargo volume available with this hatchback. Browse our latest VW ID3 deals