British motorists are being urged to consider leasing their electric vehicles rather than buying them outright, as new data reveals a dramatic surge in the used car leasing market.
Explosive Growth in Used EV Leasing
According to the latest figures from the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), the number of used car leases in the UK skyrocketed by 166% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier. This remarkable growth is being fuelled predominantly by electric cars.
Thom Groot, Chief Executive of the broker The Electric Car Scheme, highlighted the market's rapid evolution. "Three years ago, used EV leasing was very small because there were very few used EVs on the market," he said. From representing about 15% of sales in 2024, used electric vehicles now account for nearly half of the company's business.
How Salary Sacrifice Makes EVs Affordable
The appeal of leasing is largely driven by financial benefits, particularly through salary sacrifice schemes offered by employers. One driver, named Santos, shared his experience of leasing a lightly used Mercedes-Benz EQA without any upfront payment.
By using his company's salary sacrifice option via The Electric Car Scheme, his monthly payments were reduced from a typical £570 to just £360. "There was no deposit – the tax benefits really made sense," Santos explained. "That’s what made me move forward with it."
Ian Hughes, CEO of the corporate and consumer business at Zenith Group, confirmed that salary sacrifice has been "a major foundation stone of the transition" to electric cars due to these significant tax advantages.
A Challenging Used EV Market
Despite the boom in leasing, the broader used electric car market faces significant challenges. Toby Poston, Chief Executive at the BVRLA, described the UK's transition to a zero-emission future as being in its "most challenging period."
He noted that while corporate demand for electric cars remains solid and salary sacrifice schemes are helping to democratise access, the used market is struggling. "Used EV values are falling relentlessly, destroying value on an epic scale," Poston warned.
The data supports his concern: between 2021 and 2024, the average used EV price plummeted by 46%, a far steeper decline than the 19% drop seen for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Poston characterised this as a "death by a thousand cuts" that is costing the industry hundreds of millions of pounds and eroding confidence.
Nevertheless, for individual motorists, the experience remains positive. Gary Comerford, a consultant who runs the EV Musings podcast, reported that his experience of leasing a used EV was "very smooth," adding, "As long as you can work within your budget it’s quite easy to get a lease."
