Leasing and electric car right now makes good sense unless you love ownership.
Remember how expensive flat screens TV’s and DVD players were more than a decade ago when they first arrived in Malaysia and also the rest of the world.
We remember seeing a shiny black flat screen TV for RM9,000 and it was just a 32-inch and the 40-inch was past RM11,000.
Meanwhile, as technology improved the prices dropped, and today they cost just 10 percent of what it cost then.
So, with electric cars, lets look at the driving range and mileage against the current cost. If you do not electric vehicle technology, then by all means just stay with the petrol and even diesel powered vehicles.
It is fact that the electric car are not going away. The auto companies are positioning for the demand. Notice how many new automotive companies are offering electric vehicles and they are NOT offering hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles as they do not have a petrol engine technology in their ownership.
With an electric car, just about anyone with enough funds just needs to get a simple platform, but the rest off the shelf (like the battery, motor and so on) and out it together and it will sell in less developed markets like Africa, South America and even parts of Asia where there are corrupt automotive agencies (like MAAri was once upon a time) willing to ‘sign off’ on the vehicle as road worthy.
No doubt it will be expensive to replace batteries on an electric car and it is interesting how we are seeing many new China produced electric vehicle brands offering a 10-year battery warranty, but will the still be in business even 5 years from now?
So, in the meantime, if you want an EV, please buy from an established auto manufacturer, or just lease one. OK?
