Fiat 500e and Subaru Solterra now cost less than $300/month to lease
Fiat cut the cost of its 2024 500e lease deal by 35% compared to last month, while Subaru trimmed $50/month from its long-standing zero-down lease deal on the 2024 Solterra Premium. Both EVs now boast average monthly lease costs that undercut nearly every new vehicle lease on the US market, electric or otherwise.
Fiat is currently advertising a 36-month lease on the 500e that’s $199/month, $2999 due at signing, which calculates to an average monthly cost of just $277/month plus tax and license. Those are by far the best 500e lease terms we’ve seen since the pandemic. Back then, circa 2019, about $250/month was enough to lease the original 500e, a spartan 84-mile runabout incapable of fast charging. Today’s all-new 500e (MSRP $34,095) is much improved, with a 141-mile range, DC fast charging, a 10-inch center display that hosts a modern infotainment system, and a slightly roomier cabin. Aesthetically, the two-door front-drive four-seater pays proper homage to its ancestors with a beautifully retro-styled body and dashboard that seamlessly blends the old with what’s new. Shortcomings, besides its short range? Well, cargo space aft of the rear seats measures eight cubic feet. Small perhaps, but on par with its competition, namely the two-door MINI Cooper Hardtop SE.
Need something bigger? If you’ve got two more bucks to spare every month and are willing to forego freshly designed, artfully sculpted Italian coachwork, take a look at a Solterra. Subaru dropped the monthly on a 2024 Solterra Premium lease down to $279/month for 36 months. That’s with zero down, so its average monthly lease cost is – yeah, you guessed it – $279 per month. Compared to the 500e, those two bucks will net two more doors, room for one more passenger, and three times the cargo volume (23.8 cu ft) behind the rear seats. Capable of sprinting from zero to 60mph in 6.5 seconds and traveling 228 miles on a full charge, the $46,220 SUV also provides better straight-line performance and a longer range. Oh, and the Solterra lease comes with a 10K mi/year allowance, which is 2500 miles more than the 500e lease.
Playing for keeps? According to the fine print in Subaru’s ad, the Solterra Premium lease comes with an option to buy at the end of its three-year term for $20,390. So with the $279 initial payment at signing plus 35 monthly payments of $279 (subtotal $10,044) added to a buyout of $20,390, the Solterra can be owned for a total of $30,434 before tax and license. That’s $15,786 below MSRP! For many EVs, treating a lease as if it’s a loan with a balloon payment can save thousands versus paying cash or financing, thanks to huge lease incentives that pass the entire commercial clean vehicle Federal tax credit to the consumer.
Doing the same math on the Fiat 500e lease yields similar results. Adding its $1999 initial payment due at signing to 35 subsequent monthly payments of $199 equals a subtotal of $8964 after three years. According to the lease calculator on leasehackr.com, a 36-month lease on the 2024 500e with a 7500 mi/year allowance has a 52% residual. Multiplying that residual with a $34,095 MSRP calculates to a buyout of $17,729 at lease end. So all-in, the 500e can be owned for just $26,693 before tax and license, which is $7402 less than ponying up the cash up front.
The Fiat 500e and Subaru Solterra are now the second and third cheapest factory EV leases in the nation, bested only by the Vinfast VF8, which has been at the top of our list of Manufacturer lease offers since last month.
At $199/month for 36 months and $894 due at signing, the 264-mile VF8 in Eco trim has an average monthly lease cost of just $218/month. Will Fiat and Subaru eventually offer leases that approach an average monthly cost of $200/month? Perhaps, but for now, some Subaru dealers are stepping up with their own discounts $6000 or more that could result in eye-popping Solterra lease terms. There are a few Fiat dealers discounting the all-new 500e by up to $4100, but it’s unclear if these discounts are already applied to the factory lease deal since the fine print in Fiat’s ad does mention that the terms require “dealer participation”.
Need help finding a great deal in your area on these EVs? Use the links below:
As always, check our Electric Vehicle Price Guide and Electric Vehicle Lease Guide for the best deals on EVs in the US.
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Environment
U.S. could reach deal with Canada that avoids oil and gas tariffs, energy secretary says
HOUSTON — The U.S. could reach an agreement with Canada that avoids tariffs on imports of oil, gas and other energy resources, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday.
Wright said such a scenario is “certainly is possible” but “it’s too early to say” in response to a question from CNBC during a press conference at the CERAWeek by S&P Global. The U.S. is in “active dialogue” with Canada and Mexico, the energy secretary said.
President Donald Trump has paused until April 2 tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports that are compliant with the agreement which governs trade in North America. Trump originally imposed broad 25% tariffs on goods from both countries as well as lesser 10% tariffs on energy imports from Canada.
It’s unclear, however, how much of the oil, gas and other energy that the U.S. imports from Canada is compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Wright declined to provide specifics when CNBC asked how much of those imports are USMCA compliant.
“I’m going to avoid the details for now,” Wright said. The energy secretary said, “We can get to no tariffs or very low tariffs but it’s got to be reciprocal” in an interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan.
Canada’s energy minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, warned last week that energy prices will rise in the U.S. if the tariffs on energy imports go into full effect.
“We will see higher gasoline prices as a function of energy, higher electricity prices from hydroelectricity from Canada, higher home heating prices associated with natural gas that comes from Canada and higher automobile prices,” Wilkinson told CNBC’s Megan Cassella in an interview.
The U.S. has been the largest producer of crude oil and natural gas in the world for years. But many refiners in the U.S. are dependent on heavy crude imported from Canada. The U.S. imported 6.6 million barrels of crude oil per day on average in December, more than 60% of which came from Canada, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Wright acknowledged that the tariffs are creating uncertainty in energy markets as negotiations continue.
“We’re in the middle of negotiations for where things are going to go with tariffs, so that feels frightening and gripping right now but this time will pass,” Wright said. “Deals will be made, we’ll get certainty and we’ll have a positive economic environment for Americans going forward.”
U.S. crude oil fell more than 1% Monday to close at $66.03 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent closed at $69.28 per barrel. Crude oil futures have pulled back substantially as Trump’s trade policy creates uncertainty and OPEC+ has confirmed that it plans to gradually bring back 2.2 million barrels per day of production beginning next month.
Apple is rolling out a notable update to Apple Maps EV Routing for Ford drivers. Starting today, Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning drivers can use Apple Maps EV Routing via CarPlay to plan road trips that include Tesla Superchargers – or any station that uses the North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector.
As I’ve explained before, Ford began shipping adapters CCS to NACS adapters that allow Mach-E and Lightning drivers to charge at Tesla Superchargers last year. Until today, however, Apple Maps was unaware of this change. This meant Apple Maps EV Routing would only route Mach-E and Lightning drivers to CCS charging stations, even though a route with Tesla Superchargers might’ve been more efficient.
With today’s change, Apple Maps via CarPlay will now include NACS fast charging stations, such as compatible Tesla Superchargers, in recommended route planning recommendations.
In a blog post, Ford explains:
Apple Maps EV Routing in CarPlay allows drivers to input their route and can view the estimated battery level they will have when they get to a destination, as well as suggested charging stations along the way if charging is needed. Previously, Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning drivers would have to manually open another app, then enter a NACS fast charger as a destination to have it added to their route. Now, with the Apple Maps EV Routing and NACS fast charger integration, the experience will be more seamless.
How to Use Apple Maps EV Routing in CarPlay:
- Connect your Apple iPhone to CarPlay.
- Open Apple Maps, go to Settings, and confirm your preferred charging network(s) – make sure you select a NACS fast charging station, such as Tesla Supercharger. You only have to do this once.
- Enter a destination.
- Apple Maps will then calculate the estimated state of charge you will have when you get to a destination.
- If a charge is required, depending on the fastest route, it will automatically route you to a NACS fast charging station.*
This is a significant update to the Apple Maps EV Routing experience for Ford drivers. Next up on my wishlist is support for battery preconditioning when using Apple Maps EV Routing. Android Auto added this feature last October.
The new feature is available now to iPhone users running iOS 17 or later. No software update is required for your car.
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James Murdoch, a Tesla board member and friend of CEO Elon Musk, has confirmed that he sold about $13 million in stock today as the stock (TSLA) crashed.
There has been a lot of insider trading at Tesla lately, and by trading, we mean selling – cause no insider is ever buying at Tesla.
We recently reported on Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav recently selling ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.
Tesla’s chairwoman, Robyn Denholm, also sold $33 million worth of Tesla shares last week and over $100 million in the last 3 months.
Now, it’s James Murdoch’s turn. The Tesla board member just confirmed, through a required SEC filing, that he sold 54,776 Tesla shares for just over $13 million today:
He sold as Tesla’s stock crashed 15% today. It is now down more than 50% from its all-time high just a few months ago.
Murdoch was appointed to Tesla’s board in 2017.
He is better known as the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.
Murdoch was one of the Tesla board directors who was forced to return almost $1 billion in cash and stock options to Tesla as part of a settlement for over-compensation.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla insiders are unloading, and those are just the ones we know about. Public companies only have to report insider trading for board directors and listed top executives.
For the latter, Tesla purposefully only lists 3 people: Elon, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s CFO, and Tom Zhu, whose role at Tesla has bit quite fluid in recent years.
Therefore, we don’t know about the dozens of other top executives potentially selling their shares right now amid a giant correction.
It’s really suspicious because there are clear top leaders at Tesla who are often on Tesla’s earnings calls, and they are not even listed, like Lars Moravy, for example.
But it’s par for the course at Tesla, which has some of the worst corporate governance I have ever seen. It’s truly shameful.
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