There’s a loophole in the stricter IRA federal tax credit that only applies $3750 rebates on North American-built cars and separately $3750 on domestic batteries. For whatever reason, all EVs get the full $7500 applied to leases, however. So that has more people leasing EVs than ever before.
The number of electric vehicle models that can be leased for less than $400/month has grown by 50% since last August. The list now includes ten models with factory offers that rival lease terms on low-priced ICE vehicles such as the Toyota Camry LE, Chevy Equinox LT, and Honda HR-V LX. Two of those EV models have a range of over 300 miles.
1. 2023 Vinfast VF8 Eco – $268/month
On paper, the VF8 Eco looks pretty good, given an incredibly attractive average monthly lease cost that’s well under $300/month before tax and license. Its 264-mile range and 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds is in line with the competition, has a roomier than expected cabin and comes with amenities not typically found in a base trim such as heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, power-folding heated side mirrors, and leather-like seating surfaces. However, cargo space behind the rear seats of this 5-passenger all-wheel drive crossover measures at just 13.2 cubic feet, which would be excusable If that was the only shortcoming of this fledgling EV, but sadly it is not. Reviews by major auto enthusiast publications last spring have been negative, citing quality issues, quirky driving dynamics, and buggy software.
Vinfast says improvements have been made to the VF8 since then, and at $249/month for 36 months with $944 to start before tax and license, it might be worthwhile to give it a test drive to experience how it measures up. If a three-year commitment is too risky, Vinfast’s online payment estimator says that a 24-month, zero-down lease is priced at just $299/month. Either way, the VF8 could save thousands of dollars over leasing any other all-wheel-drive crossover, gas or electric.
2. 2024 Nissan LEAF S – $332/month (Northeast), $357/month (elsewhere)
At $249/month for 36 months with $3219 to start, the 2024 Nissan LEAF S leases for $23/month less than the 2023 model did last August. The front-drive, five-passenger hatchback with 24 cubic feet of cargo space behind its rear seats is a carryover from last year, so it looks and performs as it has for a while, providing 149 miles of range on a full charge and a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds. Those that yearn for more range and oomph can opt for a LEAF in SV Plus trim (0-60 in 6.8 seconds, 226-mile range), but its average monthly lease cost will be north of $400/month unless the dealer agrees to a substantial discount.
Fortunately, we did find a number of dealers advertising thousands off MSRP on a 2023 or 2024 LEAF SV Plus. In fact, we found two dealers – Quirk Nissan in Massachusetts and Beaverton Nissan in Oregon – touting lease offers on an SV Plus with an average monthly cost that’s under $300/month before tax and license. Look for Nissan LEAF deals near you.
3. 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 – $333/month (SE Standard Range), $353/month (SE Long Range RWD)
This eye-popping offer of $242/month for 36 months and $3507 at signing is by far the best factory lease deal we’ve seen on the critically acclaimed, beautifully sculpted Hyundai Ioniq 5. The five-passenger crossover with 27.2 cubic feet of stowage behind the back seats, when in SE Standard Range trim, is good for 220 miles on a full charge and adequately accelerates from zero to 60mph in 7.4 seconds. Want an even better bargain? Committing another $55/month over the three-year lease term buys a whopping 37% bump up in range, for a total of 303 miles.
Want more bells and whistles, or all-wheel-drive, or maybe even both? It can all be had for under $400/month plus tax and license by scoring a big enough dealer discount. For example, Mission Hills Hyundai in Los Angeles has a rear-wheel-drive Ioniq 5 in SEL trim discounted by $2500 that’s leasing at $138/month for 36 month, $5787 at signing, which calculates to an average monthly cost of just $295/month. On the other side of the continent, McGovern Hyundai in Massachusetts is leasing an all-wheel-drive Ioniq 5 SE for $249/month for 36 months, $3499 at signing, which has an average monthly cost of $339/month. And Hyundai 112 on Long Island is advertising an Ioniq 5 SEL AWD lease at $426/month for 39 months with $1076 at signing, which does include the New York Drive Clean rebate, but it’s apparently priced with no dealer discount. These terms step over our $400 line in the sand, but negotiating a $1500 to $2000 discount should drop the effective lease cost of an all-wheel-drive Ioniq 5 SEL (255 miles of range, 0-60 in 4.4 seconds) to less than $400/month. Let us help you find a great Ioniq 5 deal in your area.
Here we go again! During last year’s EV price war, Hyundai slashed over $100/month off the effective monthly lease cost of its least expensive Ioniq 6, which at the time was the 240-mile Ioniq 6 SE Standard Range. Last week, Hyundai took another swing at their Ioniq 6 incentives, perhaps in response to Tesla reducing the monthly lease cost of cheapest Model 3 sedan down to $432/month. So now the 2024 Ioniq 6 SE, a sleek sedan capable of covering an astounding 361 miles on a full charge and sprinting from zero to sixty in just 6.2 seconds, can be leased for just $249/month for 36 months with $3499 due at signing, plus tax and license. Upgrading to SEL trim takes only $14/month more, adding larger wheel and tires, wireless device charging, leather-like seating surfaces, digital key, enhanced collision avoidance, and enhanced driving assistance to the already well-appointed SE trim.
5. Kia Niro EV Wind – $343/month (2023), $357/month (2024)
At $239/month for 36 months and $4499 to start, the factory lease offer on a 2024 Kia Niro EV Wind has an average monthly cost that’s $30/month less than the lease on a 2023 model back in August. Remaining 2023 models are slightly cheaper, advertised at the same monthly payment as a 2024 but requiring $500 less to start. The five-passenger, front-drive crossover goes 253 miles on a full charge, scoots from zero to 60mph in 6.7 seconds, and carries 23 cubic feet of cargo behind the rear seats.
The new-for-2024 Kona Electric SE leases for $259/month for 36 months and $3999 to start, plus tax and license. That computes to an effective cost that’s $10/month less than the factory lease offer on the first-gen 2023 model in base SE trim offered last August, but there is some give-and-take. On the plus side, in addition to fresh interior and exterior aesthetics, the redesigned front-drive five-passenger crossover grew six inches in length, contributing to more passenger space as well as a 33% larger cargo area behind the rear seats, now measuring at 25.5 cubic feet. The rub is that the base model now comes with a smaller 48.6 kWh battery and less powerful 133hp motor, dropping its range to 200 miles and slowing its 0-60mph time to 8.7 seconds. Those that long for the range and performance achieved by the Kona Electric of yore can pony up an additional $60/month for a second-gen in SEL trim, which scoots from zero to sixty in 6.7 seconds and goes 261 miles on a full charge.
As one might expect, the redesigned Kona Electric is pretty much selling at MSRP for now, less any factory incentives, which is currently at a very compelling $7500 whether you choose to lease or buy. There are several dealers offering discounts worth mentioning, though. Keyes Hyundai of Mission Hills in the Los Angeles area and Coggin DeLand Hyundai in Florida are advertising a $1000 discount on their Kona Electric inventory, Dahl Hyundai in Wisconsin is offering an SEL at $945 off, and Bob Howard Hyundai in Oklahoma City is discounting one 2024 SEL by $3780. Quantities are currently limited when compared to other Hyundai EVs and to its platform sibling, the Kia Niro EV, with the price-leading SE trim being the most scarce, accounting for less than 10% of the Kona Electrics currently on dealer lots. Find a Hyundai Kona Electric at a dealer near you.
7. 2024 Mini Electric Hardtop – $371/month
Mini keeps trimming the lease cost of its Electric Hardtop, now advertised at $279/month for 36 months with $3579 due at signing for a 2024 model. That calculates to an average lease cost that’s $22 less than the lease terms on a 2023 model back in August. The front-drive, two-door, four-seat hatchback with 8.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind its rear seats sprints from zero to 60mph in 6.1 seconds but travels only up to 114 miles on a full charge.
Mini enthusiasts that long for more range will have to wait until its 2025 refresh, which promises a bigger battery that should be good for 200+ miles on a charge. Until then, don’t be surprised if Mini continues to whittle away at the current model’s lease cost. As far as dealer discounts, estimates from car shopping websites indicate markdowns ranging between 2% (about $500-$700) to 4% (about $1300) can be expected, which should translate to a $10-$20/month savings from the factory lease offer. Check for a Mini Electric Hardtop deal near you.
8. 2023 VW ID.4 Standard – $388/month
If size is all that matters, The VW ID.4 Standard could be viewed as the best factory lease deal on this list since it’s the only one that can carry five people and over 30 cubic feet of cargo at the same time, just barely edging out the Subaru Solterra by a cubic foot or so. However, settling on the Standard trim level means settling for rear-wheel-drive and a smaller battery, limiting its range to 209 miles and its zero to sixty time to 7.6 seconds. If more range and performance is desired, the decked-out ID.4 Pro S AWD goes 255 miles on a full charge and sprints to 60mph from a standstill in 5.5 seconds. VW’s lease offer on the Pro S AWD is a relatively reasonable $379/month for 36 months with $4499 to start, which computes to an average monthly lease cost of just $471/month.
Dealers practically sold out of the Solterra in Premium trim after Subaru declared a no-down, $399/month lease offer last August, which is a bargain for a five-passenger, all-wheel-drive EV that hauls 29 cubic feet of cargo behind its rear seats, hits 60mph from standstill in 6.5 seconds, and covers 222 miles on a full charge. By our observation, dealer stock of the Premium and Limited trim levels remained depleted as the killer lease deal was continued into the new year, leaving only the top-of-the-line Touring trim available. Good news is that dealerships have some 2023 Premium and Limited Solterras in showrooms again, and Touring models are being discounted generously. But don’t expect these 2023 deals to last long since scores of the improved 2024 Solterra are in transit to retailers, and although Subaru is holding the line on its MSRP going into the new model year, it may be wise to assume the alluring lease terms will no longer persist.
Last and certainly not least is the 260-mile Tesla Model Y, which is seeing its most competitive pricing ever and leases starting at $379/month with the terms outlined below.
Tesla has the most robust charging network by far, and there are more Model Ys on the road than any other EV, guaranteeing many accessories, repairability, and general knowledge of the vehicle. You can also skip the annoying dealership experience.
Bump the car up to Long Range 310-mile AWD for $430/month. Extras include optional 7-seats, tow hitch, premium paint, FSD and 3.5 sec 0-60 Performance option. Use our referral link to get 3 months of FSD for free.
Tesla is throttling down Cybertruck production as it shifts workers to Model Y production because inventory of the electric pickup truck is piling up.
The automaker had planned a production capacity of 250,000 Cybertrucks per year at Gigafactory Texas, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see this being ramped up to 500,000 per year.
However, things are not going in that direction.
After having sold roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in its first year of production (2024), Tesla is already throttling down Cybertruck production, according to documents obtained by Business Insider.
The report states that Tesla asked employees working on Cybertruck production to switch to Model Y production for “business needs”:
“As we continue to assess schedules to meet business needs, we’ll be making a change to Model Y and Cyber schedules and we want to ensure that your preferences are considered.”
The moves come as Tesla is facing mounting Cybertruck inventory and has started to directly discount them by $1,600 and even add “free supercharging for life” on some inventory:
The move of workers from Cybertruck to Model Y also comes as Tesla is preparing to build a new version of the Model Y at Gigafactory Texas after launching it in China.
However, Tesla usually doesn’t launch a new production at the detriment of another vehicle program, but this time, it is convenient because of the Cybertruck’s demand issues.
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Sam Ragsdale, Ryan Sproule, and Mason Hall have raised $10 million in a seed funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund and Blockchain Capital.
Sam Ragsdale
Inside the Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, a 19th century landmark perched on the banks of the East River, three engineers have transformed 3,000 square feet of the former factory into a workshop housing their new startup, Merit Systems.
Sam Ragsdale, Ryan Sproule and Mason Hall are five months into creating Merit, which they hope will solve a longstanding challenge in software: rewarding open-source developers. On Thursday, Merit announced it’s raised $10 million in a seed funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund and Blockchain Capital.
Sproule says Merit is trying to address the “attribution problem” in software development. In the world of open source, which underpins more than 97% of the apps consumers use on a daily basis, tech giants and independent programmers alike contribute to products that are freely available for anyone to access and improve.
“Because the price is zero, and there is no attribution to the people that created it, there is not a very sustainable set of economics to keep it alive,” said Ragsdale, Merit’s CEO, who previously spent three years at Andreessen Horowitz and before that worked as a software engineer at Google.
Substantial amounts of open-source code can be found in artificial intelligence frameworks, databases, web browsers and mobile operating systems. Some of the best known open-source projects include Android (now owned by Google), GitHub (acquired by Microsoft) and Apache Spark, data analytics technology at the heart of Databricks.
While many companies have been able to commercialize versions of open-source software or sell support and services as a way to generate revenue, there’s no consistent model for rewarding individuals or small groups of contributors who often do valuable work.
Merit Systems CTO Ryan Sproule working at the whiteboard at the company headquarters in the Domino Sugar Factory.
Sam Ragsdale
Chris Dixon, managing partner of Andreessen’s crypto fund, said that open source is “poorly funded and too reliant on altruistic contributions.”
In comments he’s posting on X, Dixon wrote that Merit “is building a protocol that properly attributes and rewards contributors proportionally to the value they create.”
Ragsdale, who worked with Dixon at the venture firm, first met Sproule as an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis. Sproule went on to crypto-focused firm Blockchain Capital in San Francisco, and the pair then teamed up with Hall, who was also on Andreessen’s crypto team.
The project is still in development, even as the company says it’s obtained a post-funding valuation of $55.5 million. Most of its current users are friends and acquaintances of the founders. Merit expects to roll out a broader release by the end of February after gathering and incorporating feedback from its early testers.
Sproule, Merit’s CTO and a former Amazon Web Services engineer, says the startup has the opportunity to sit “in the middle,” connecting software buyers and users with the actual creators of the technology.
“If you can solve this attribution problem, you can essentially get users to pay directly for the software people build,” he said.
Three entrepreneurs in a sugar factory
The Williamsburg community in the Brooklyn borough of New York, where the small Merit team is based, has been transformed over the past few decades from a former industrial district, first into a vibrant arts and music center and more recently into an upscale neighborhood filled with new high-rise apartment buildings and luxury shops.
But the old Domino factory, two blocks north of the Williamsburg Bridge, remains a relic of the past. The refinery was the last operating industrial facility on the waterfront before closing in 2004.
After years of neglect, the building has been reimagined as a hub for modern innovation, with panoramic views of Manhattan visible through the original brickwork. The facility opened as a modern office complex in 2023, and now offers carved-up startup space as well as full floors for bigger organizations.
Ragsdale says the building’s history is important to the startup’s story.
Merit Systems co-founders Ryan Sproule, Sam Ragsdale, and Mason Hall coding in their Brooklyn office.
Sam Ragsdale
The name Merit Systems is a “throwback to the companies of the ’60s or the ’70s, which had very industrial names that explain exactly what they do,” Ragsdale said. Merit is meant to be a straightforward description of the company’s mission.
There’s also a coveted view of Manhattan.
“You can see the skyline through the old brick in the windows,” Ragsdale said.
Inside the office, there are four desks and eight chairs. Whiteboards covered in notes and math equations fill the only corner of the office currently in use, while 3D printers from Ragsdale’s home produce prototypes, including the company’s tesseract logo.
“We’re definitely not using all 3,000 square feet,” said Ragsdale. “We’ll get there eventually.”
Merit plans to add seven new hires in the coming months and is specifically looking for people who want an in-person work culture.
“The idea flow between people when you’re sitting next to them is really important,” says Sproule. “We don’t really believe in the fully decentralized remote work model for an early-stage company.”
Genesis officially launched the updated Electrified GV70 in Korea, starting at just over $50,000. The new electric SUV now has a bigger battery for more driving range, added luxury, and even more style. Check out the new Genesis GV70 EV below.
The midsize luxury electric SUV was first launched in Korea in March 2022. Less than three years later, the GV70 EV is returning with “a more elegant and luxurious look.”
Genesis launched the new Electrified GV70 on Thursday in its home market. It improves on the current model in nearly every aspect, including added features, a new battery, and an improved exterior design.
Like the updated GV60, revealed earlier this month, the new Electrified GV70 features a redesigned front and rear end. The crest grille now includes a Gradient G-Matrix pattern, adding to its already sporty look. Genesis also added its new Micro Lens Array (MLA) tech to the signature Two Tone headlights.
The refreshed GV70 gains new 20″ matte dark gray wheels while the 19″ wheels have also been updated, “creating a strong yet sophisticated” look.
Inside, the electric SUV “has been reborn” with added luxury and space. It now features Genesis’ new 27″ connected car Integrated Cockpit (ccIC) display system and touchscreen HVAC panel.
For a more luxurious feel, Genesis added an exclusive “Milky Way Pattern Mood Lighting” and other elements, such as a crystal electronic shift dial and horn cover with its branding.
Genesis reveals new Electrified GV70 prices and specs
Powered by its fourth-gen batteries, the new Genesis Electrified GV70 now has even more driving range. With an 84 kWh battery pack, the updated model now gets up to 423 km (263 miles) range. That’s up from 400 km (249 miles) in the outgoing model with a 77.4 kWh battery.
The new Electrified GV70 can also charge faster with its increased battery capacity. With a 350 kW fast charger, it can charge up to 80% in just 19 minutes.
To improve the drive, Genesis added new Highway Body Motion Control tech to minimize the jerk when suddenly braking or accelerating. The rear suspension also features a new hydro bushing, which was previously only on the front suspension, to reduce vibration.
Like several other new Hyundai Motor Group (including Kia and Hyundai) EVs, the Electrified GV70 now includes a Virtual Gear Shift function to replicate the feeling of a gas car shifting.
Despite the updates, the new Genesis Electrified GV70 starts at just 75.2 million won, or around $51,700 in Korea, with EV tax benefits included.
In the US, the 2025 Electrified GV70 starts at $66,950 with up to 236 miles range. Although prices are not expected to change drastically, the updated 2026 model is expected to have upwards of 250 miles driving range.
Genesis revealed the updated GV70 EV for the US at the LA Auto Show in November. It now includes an NACS port for accessing Tesla Superchargers. The vehicle will begin arriving at US dealers in the first half of 2025.
With the updated 2026 models en route, Genesis is offering up to $16,750 off the 2025 Electrified GV70 with lease bonuses. Ready to take advantage of the savings? You can use our link to find deals on the Genesis GV70 in your area today.
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