Ford Credit will update new lease agreements in 37 states to specify "you do not have the option to purchase the Vehicle at the end of the lease term"

[tuminatr]

Lease is shorter than the battery warranty Vehicle has to be turned in Therefore, no battery warranty issues was his speculation.

I am not sure how this helps Ford evade warranties, more than likely Ford is seeing resale values on these cars go nuts and sees a profit opportunity. I would think that in most cases these vehicles would be resold. If there was a battery issue it would then be fixed under warranty and then resold.

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[devmach-e]

Title says "new". Yes, starting 6/15.

Thanks, I wasn’t able to get the news article to load.

 

[Maquis]

My current thinking is that the best use of a battery at 70% of original capacity is to repurpose it for stationary (solar) storage. It should be more economical to install a used 100 kWh battery (now only 70 kWh) than a new 70 kWh battery or to recycle a perfectly usable (even if not EV-usable) battery.
The size & weight per kWh is not much of an issue for most stationary applications.

 

[SuperRob]

Since I haven't seen it mentioned yet, this seems like a great reason to go with Ford Options ... as if the tax credit weren't a big enough reason on it's own.

 

[emersonsdad]

How would this effect trading in the car to a different dealership before the lease is up?

 

[jsteach]

Ford is banking on the idea ! that the residual value will be worth more than the payoff. Making money on the front end and now the back end when returned.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/lease-end-options-restrictions

 

[Aggie PT]

So a lease but far worse.

I am still driving on 20 year old batteries on my 2002 Rav4EV that I have owned since it was new. I don't think it is because they want to pull the batteries for some other purpose.

How much of a charge does that hold compared to when you bought it? Curious to see how long these batteries last.

 

[Larry Paul]

How much of a charge does that hold compared to when you bought it? Curious to see how long these batteries last.

I don’t push it super hard, but based on my scan tool and actual driving, I estimate I have 80% capacity of a new pack.

With that said…this is NiMh technology developed in the mid 1990’s. It is not modern LiOn chemistry, however my 2017 Bolt that I sold with 64K miles had no noticeable degradation with this chemistry.

The key for making Lithium Ion batteries last is to keep them in the 80-20 SOC zone with limited charging to full and not to deplete them fully. This car has more range than I need for daily driving and I am working to get 20 years of useful life from the pack…so for daily driving I plan to keep it in that range and only if I am going on a road trip to ever consider charging above that. Only twice in that nearly 5 year period of owning the Bolt did I ever charge over 89% SOC.

 

[Haven]

Ford is banking on the idea ! that the residual value will be worth more than the payoff. Making money on the front end and now the back end when returned.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/lease-end-options-restrictions

I use to work for Ford Credit for many years. I think the low payoff value relative to current market value is the primary reason. The secondary reason is that Ford Options is very similar to Leasing. This makes the two products more different. I don’t think it has anything to do with the battery.

 

[ADDZ71]

I use to work for Ford Credit for many years. I think the low payoff value relative to current market value is the primary reason. The secondary reason is that Ford Options is very similar to Leasing. This makes the two products more different. I don’t think it has anything to do with the battery.

I agree 100% on this. I am in the Battery Materials business (Lithium specifically) and degradation during the lease term will be nearly minimal. They would probably see a second life of these as fleet cars or something of that before dismantling the vehicle to repurpose/recycle the battery. At a minimum when these cars are 10 or 15 years old they will become commuter vehicles or new driver vehicles for the high schoolers who don't have to travel long distance.

 

[Haven]

I agree. Ford is pushing for more direct online sales for EVs so that takes the dealer out of the equation. The lease vehicle coming back to ford that the customer can’t buy gives the local dealers the opportunity to purchase before it goes to auction. Dealer can recondition and sell as preowned with some type of warranty. Dealers do this today for all their lease vehicles that customer turns in. Ford needs the dealer for servicing and trying to get them more business to make them viable in the future when customers order only more and more online. If customer thinks they might buy after term is up, they can use Ford Options.

 

[nhammerschmidt]

Lease is shorter than the battery warranty Vehicle has to be turned in Therefore, no battery warranty issues was his speculation.

The warranty applies to subsequent owners as well.

 

[ChuckA]

Up until the end of a Lease there is usually a buyout value. The vehicle can be traded in or bought out early thereby defeating this strategy. I wonder if state regulators will allow leases with no buyouts? Just a thought. Also, what’s the legal definition of a Lease?

Ever see the 2006 movie “who killed the electric car” where GM only leased the cars and then collected and destroyed all the vehicles? Imagine- GM could have beaten Tesla! Great visionaries, GM.

 

[RickMachE]

Up until the end of a Lease there is usually a buyout value. The vehicle can be traded in or bought out early thereby defeating this strategy. I wonder if state regulators will allow leases with no buyouts? Just a thought. Also, what’s the legal definition of a Lease?

All leases from 6/15/22 on for EVs will have NO BUYOUT OPTION REGARDLESS OF TIME.

As to what states allow, there is clearly a reason why they implemented this in 37 states and not 50.
Don't know why you're concerned about legal definitions. Ford Options is not a lease. Ford loans are not a lease. A lease is where the owner doesn't relinquish ownership, i.e. Ford Credit owns it.

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