Glass's Guide backs battery leasing EV model

Glass’s Guide backs battery leasing EV model

Vehicle valuation specialist Glass’s Guide has released the first comparative values for an electric vehicle (EV) with the battery included, an EV with a leased battery and a range-extender EV.

It reckons an electric van like the Ford Transit Connect Electric*, the list price (£39,995) of which includes the battery, should retain 35 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles. In comparison, an electric van similar in size, but with a leased battery like the Renault Kangoo ZE*, which is due for its UK launch in September, should retain 54 per cent of its original value (£16,995) over the same period.

An electric vehicle with a range-extender, which is driven solely by battery power, but which uses additional electric power supplied by a small petrol engine acting as a generator, will retain 43 per cent of its value. Opel displayed a Vivaro e-Concept* at last year’s Hanover CV Show; it has an electric drivetrain with a potential extended range of up to 250 miles thanks to a petrol engine to top up the batteries on the move.

“The use of whole life costs is the only way to assess the new powertrain technologies and differing business models,” said Andy Carroll, managing director of Glass’s UK. “Our analysis shows that the new wave of vehicles is economically viable, even before taking allowance of company car tax and local incentives. In particular, the battery leasing option that we assessed is attractive for the buyer as it not only means the initial purchase price of the electric van is closer to a conventional vehicle, but also removes the uncertainty of battery durability and replacement cost.”

* The figures released by Glass's Guide were based on a passenger car, the Nissan LEAF, and competitors of a similar size, but we don't see why the conclusions shouldn't be wildly different for light commercials.