A growing number of companies in the U.S. are offering prospective car buyers so-called ‘micro-leases’ and filling the void left behind by many carmakers backing away from short-lived subscription services.
One of the firms adopting this new strategy is Polestar. It launched a new ‘flexible lease’ program in October and allows shoppers to lease the Polestar 2 for just a few months. The electric carmaker hopes that it can get drivers into the seat of the highly-rated electric sedan and by the time the new Polestar 3 is ready, they’ll upgrade to this newer and more expensive model.
Polestar says that roughly 50% of its customers have opted for short-term leases since the program was launched.
Micro-leases are well suited to the EV industry. With most of the early adopters having already purchased an EV, overall demand has started to fall in part because of how quickly the market is developing. Not only are the technologies found within EVs improving at a dramatic rate but the number of electric cars on sale in the U.S. next year is expected to jump by 20-30% and will include a host of compelling new products from the likes of Volkswagen and Hyundai.
Read: Polestar 3 Completes Hot Weather Testing, Production Slated For Early 2024
Speaking with Bloomberg, Boston Consulting Group principal Philipp Sadek notes that short-term leases can help carmakers and dealers monetize growing EV inventories and believes they will account for up to 15% of new car transactions globally soon.
Many car brands offered monthly subscriptions between 2017 and 2019 but most have canceled these programs due to waning popularity, in part because most people don’t want to change cars every month. Micro-leases are starting to fill the void left by these subscription services and AutoNation has even started offering six and 12-month leases from its 250 dealerships across the country.
