How to have your EV cake and eat it too

Electric vehicles (EVs) are all but sure to be the future of motoring. But they still have a way to go before they really take over from combustion, the biggest hurdle being price. While EVs are much cheaper to run on the daily, they still carry fairly healthy stickers when buying new, even with government incentives like the Clean Car Programme, which offers a rebate of just over $7000 to the first New Zealand registrant.

We’re only just getting to the point where EVs cost under the $40k mark with that rebate included, and there’s no guarantee that will stay beyond the 2023 election year.

But thankfully, there is a middle ground, which might help some of you feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living.

Companies like Sixt offer vehicle subscription services, which basically means you pay a fee every month – like Netflix or Spotify – to use a car. You don’t legally own it, but you can drive it as much as the agreement allows, usually more than 1000km per month, which is probably close to what you’d normally drive away. It’s like an upgraded car rental scheme, extending for longer durations but not as locked-in as financing a car.

These services can get you into a brand-new EV without that huge buy-in price, but still allowing you to save money by avoiding petrol stations. Sticking with Sixt as an example – there are others too, remember – prices start at about $2300 per month (Polestar 2 Long range Single motor), and rising to a maximum of $3895 (Mercedes-Benz EQC), with kilometre allowances of about 1250km.

Plus you don’t need to deal with the usual gremlins of vehicle ownership – the company handles warrants, registration, maintenance, and insurance. All you need to do is charge it up, which costs markedly less than filling up with petrol. According to non-profit Drive Electric, driving an average of 25-30km per day (like most Kiwis) is roughly equivalent to paying 30 cents per litre of petrol.

This is also a great way to try before you buy if you’re on the fence about the ownership experience of an EV.

You can also switch up your car if you find yourself needing more or less space. It does come with a cost change but it’s a lot easier than trying to sell a car then buy a bigger one.

Of course, there are other companies around that do the same thing. Turners is one, offering a wide range of affordable electric and hybrid vehicles including the Nissan Leaf, while Snap Subscribe has the BYD Atto 3 SUV listed online.