rossages said:
The battery lease is a total scam IMHO. It effectively nets them 6k every 3 years which they receive up front as they use an intermediary (RCI) and has to transfer with the car when you sell, I can imagine this will hammer residual valued when reselling the vehicle. I hope this practice doesn't set a precedent. Bloody nice car though.
You have an interesting take on battery leasing but I have to disagree.
The biggest problem with electric cars at the moment is the purchase price. Most people I talk to love the idea of electric cars but most agree that the high purchase price is the biggest barrier to take up at the moment... not range.
Battery lease allows for a much lower entry price and it allows for a purchase model they are used to. At the moment, you buy a car and then pay monthly for fuel. The cost of ownership isn't front-loaded as it is with an EV. The battery lease model is much more like the current purchase model and I think it will be very popular. People can buy the car and pay for their miles as they do them.
As for it being a conn... I have seen nothing that makes me think that. Why would a manufacturer lease batteries and make the whole purchase process much more complicated if there weren't huge benefits for the customer? Without the battery lease they get ALL of their money up front anyway so I see no financial benefit to the manufacturer for using a battery leasing model.
I believe battery lease may be the magic-bullet that brings EVs into the mainstream. People can imagine buying a £13,000 car and pay monthly for the battery what they already pay monthly for petrol... they can't imagine, or even afford, to pay £30,000 or more even if it does work out cheaper in the long run.