Comments on: The Economics of my New EV

By: David

David — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I only have one car in the US, also a Volvo, and most of my mileage is out in the desert, so for me an EUV, err, EV doesn't make much sense, economically. I'd also worry about all the coal, lithium and neodymium it is consuming rather inefficiently (well hidden).

If I'm ever unfortunate enough to be in a car crash, I'd also prefer to be in my Volvo.

I do, however, have an electric bike, which I commute to work on in the winter, when it's not too hot. So I am saving the planet - lets hope the cars avoid me...

By: bryan

bryan — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Curiously, does you lease have a mileage limits? If so, then in some instances this option may not be practical. if using your same assumptions in the case of the SUV, but driving 1500 miles/month and purchasing the Leaf with a total TTL of say $40k with a 4% note for 60 months, this translates into a monthly payment on the order of $735. The gas – electric savings would be ~$360/month so the actual cost would be on the order of $375. Still very respectable all things considered… (assuming of course my math is accurate…)

By: bryan

bryan — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

what happens when you have to renew your lease at the end of 39 months? you will not have a volvo to sell to make up for the downpayment..

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

To David’s point, the Leaf EV is definitely a city car. It has a 100 mile range, but you never want to take it down to zero. So the practical range is 80 miles. But that range estimate assumes stop-and-go traffic (it gets less "mileage" on the highway).
To Bryan’s question, there is a mileage limit on the lease, but it is 15K miles per year – twice what I am likely to use. To Stuart’s question, I wouldn’t have the Volvo in 39 months either (it’s value by then would be close to zero). At the end of the lease, I have the option to purchase my Leaf for $16K, or turn it in.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Chris I am curious how your Leaf is working out since your last post? I recently got a quote for doing solar PV on my home and I remember this discussion, so I thought I would come back to this post. I was offered a 100% pre-payment 20-year solar PV lease for about $10,000 for a ~3.9kW system. If I bought the system outright would cost me more – but the lease sounds better as I am guaranteed performance form the company (the 100% pre-pay means I dont have to make any monthly lease payments for the solar system). With EV in my utility I can shift to a different rate plan – allows me to buy day time power at 30-50c/kWh and night time at 3-5c/kWh, I guess it would be 1c/mile. Assuming 10,000 miles/year – would be $100 for gas (vs $2500/year for my wife’s SUV which we were thinking of selling for this). The PV system produces enough power to offset 100% of my non-EV electricity consumption, so that saves another $1200 per year. So total savings are $3600 per year. The out of pocket is $33k for leaf (not thinking of the lease option) minus resale of the SUV (probably gets $16.5k) + $10k for solar = $27k. That is 13.3% rate of return – which is way better what I can get anywhere else. I am not sure if I am missing something, but I am seriously considering doing both..