The market where EVs may find new life

Battery electric vehicles are quickly becoming a leasing story, with data showing EV customers are far more likely to lease as they test the technology and avoid long-term battery risk.

Kirsten von Busch, director of product marketing at Experian Automotive, told conference attendees that leasing has become the dominant way many consumers get into a new EV, especially as dealers sit on excess inventory.

“Battery electric vehicles leasing is hot, super hot, well beyond the average of the industry as a whole last year,” she said at AAPEX 2025 in Las Vegas.

She said that contrasts with hybrids, which sit closer to the broader market.

Von Busch linked the high lease share to consumer attitudes toward EVs, describing it as a way for buyers to try electrification without long-term commitment.

This is a way for consumers to ask, “Well, do I like it? Do I not like it? Let me try this out. Let me see if I like it,” she said. “So consumers are testing that from an adoption perspective, and that’s certainly one of the reasons we anticipate leasing is so high for that market.”

Mike Dixon, data product manager for Experian Automotive, said concerns about battery life are also driving leasing behaviour.

“They’re not quite sure about the battery life. They don’t want to get stuck holding the bag on the battery,” he explained. “So they’ll lease it right for the first part of its life, and then they can decide, do they want to get another one, go back to a gas vehicle, maybe move the hybrid.

“They’re trying it out, for sure. They’re not quite sure if they want to go all the way.”