Electric cars dominate the news, but many Americans aren’t sure when the time will be right for them to go electric. Drivers have doubts about how easy it will be to find chargers when they need them (sometimes for good reason) and whether they will genuinely save money with an electric vehicle (EV).
What if you could try it for a month?
Plan Lets Subscribers Try Out Kona EV, Ioniq 5
That’s Hyundai’s thought. Hyundai this week announced a subscription program that lets drivers effectively rent an EV for a month at a time. Hyundai’s Evolve+ plan lets drivers take home a Hyundai Kona EV for $699 a month or an Ioniq 5 EV for $899 a month. Hyundai also charges a $300 activation fee, and drivers must commit to 28 days a time.
They’ll be limited to 1,000 miles of driving per month. If you drive further, you’ll pay $20 per every 100 extra miles up to 1,500, then $1 per mile. But the fee includes insurance, and maintenance is covered.
Customers can apply at home. They’ll “select their vehicle and payment terms through a custom app. Then the customer can simply go to the dealership to pick the vehicle up,” Hyundai says.
Hyundai says Evolve+ will launch this year in “seven cities across six states with plans to expand.” The company hasn’t revealed the cities yet.
Customers must be 25 or older with at least three years of driving history and a credit score of 650 or higher.
If subscribers like the car, Hyundai says, the dealership can help them convert from a subscription plan to a purchase. It’s unclear whether the money they’ve paid into monthly fees would reduce the purchase cost.
Subscription Plans Haven’t Caught on in U.S.
The idea of subscribing to a car is nothing new. Audi, BMW, Porsche, and Volvo have all previously offered subscription plans. Audi and BMW have since eliminated their subscription plans, but you can still subscribe to a Porsche or a Volvo in many states. Subscription plans give subscribers access to the latest cars for a single payment that includes insurance and require a lesser commitment than a lease. But the money doesn’t become equity, as your payments don’t get you ownership of the car or even the ability to buy it at a fixed price at the end of the term.
That may be the reason they haven’t caught on in the U.S. But Hyundai’s notion that drivers could use them to try out EV ownership makes some sense. The biggest problem we see is the lack of a home charger.
Low Commitment, But No Home Charger
Most EV charging happens at home. The cost and convenience argument for EV ownership doesn’t work well for apartment dwellers and others who can’t install home chargers. And few will take on the cost of adding a home charger to support a 28-day commitment to a car.
But, for those unsure of whether to make the leap but willing to spend a few months’ worth of payments to find out, Evolve+ might make sense.
