EV Lease Deals Can Give Some Buyers Relief on Pricing
Key Points
- To offset high prices and the loss of the federal electric vehicle tax credit, automakers are offering lease deals with low monthly payments.
- However, these deals often require big down payments and have low annual mileage limits.
The unfortunate reality of the market right now is that EVs aren’t getting cheaper. The loss of the tax credit at the end of September seems to have emphasized just how expensive new EVs are, and automakers continue to introduce new, pricey models. Jeep’s new Recon is expected to have a starting price of over $65,000 (all prices include destination), while Lucid has introduced a cheaper version of its Gravity SUV — and cheaper in this instance is subjective, as its $81,550 starting price is one percenter cheap.
There is some price relief for EV buyers that comes in the form of lease deals, but they may come with some caveats.
Related: What Does It Mean to Lease a Car?
EV Leases Are Dirt Cheap
- Takeaway: Leasing seems to be the way to go if you’re in the market for an EV and you want a low monthly payment.
Lease deals often include incentives called lease cash, which is basically an incentive the automaker offers that can discount the price of the car. Some automakers can be a little stingy with these deals. For example, Cadillac is offering just $250 in lease cash for the compact 2025 Optiq and the mid-size 2025 Lyriq and 2026 Vistiq SUVs. Others are way more generous, such as BMW, which is currently offering up to $12,000 in lease cash on its 2025 iX SUV. (All deals are available through Jan. 2, 2026, unless otherwise noted. Note that deals may vary depending on the region, so be sure to check with your local dealer.)
The real deals are found in regular leases. According to Experian, leases save EV shoppers an average of $172 per month. For example, if you can’t afford to finance Hyundai’s $60,555, seven-seat Ioniq 9 SE, you can lease that trim for $449 a month for 36 months. Polestar’s recently introduced 3 and 4 are also going for around the same price monthly; you can pick up a long range version of the 2025 3 for $499 a month for 27 months or go with the larger 2026 4 with the single electric motor for $599 a month for 36 months.
Honda has seemed to offer great leases on its 2025 Prologue since that model’s introduction, too. In multiple regions through Jan. 5, you can lease a front- or all-wheel-drive Prologue EX for $379 a month for 36 months. If you’re in the market for a 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV instead, you can pick up the 2LT trim of the popular EV for as little as $249 a month for 36 months.
Automakers are throwing lease deals on some pricier EVs, as well. Nationally, Cadillac has a few leases on a couple of its EVs for well under $500 a month. For example, you can pick up a 2025 Lyriq for as little as $419 a month for 24 months or a 2026 Optiq for $318 a month for 24 months.
Some lease deals may vary by region, though. For instance, if you live in the Los Angeles area and are looking to lease a 2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E, you can pick up a Select trim for just $219 a month for 36 months.
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The Fine Print
- Takeaway: Lease deals may be very enticing on the surface, but they may also have some limitations or require a large down payment.
While lease deals may look great to many because of those enticing monthly payments, many of these lease deals come with huge asterisks attached to them. The first are the large down payments that many of them require. That aforementioned Mustang Mach-E lease is probably cheaper than a lot of people’s family plan cellphone bills, but you’ll have to pay nearly $4,500 at signing to get it. The Equinox EV is more expensive, with a down payment of up to $13,770 required to get one for under $250 a month.
The other asterisk is the mileage limits. Leases typically have annual mileage limits that can often be for just a few hundred miles a month. If you plan to do more than just drive your leased EV around town, such as take it on road trips, this is something to consider; otherwise, that shiny new EV will spend a lot of its time sitting in your driveway. So, if you’re in the market and looking at an EV lease, make sure those mileage limits work with your lifestyle.
Read More EV News on Cars.com:
- New Battery and Motor Enhance 2026 Polestar 3
- Is the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV a Good Electric SUV? 5 Pros, 3 Cons
- Coastal Migration: Ford Applies California Special Treatment to Mustang Mach-E
- Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy
- More Electric Car News
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