Automakers Turn To Heavy Discounts To Move Unloved Battery-Electric Vehicles

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Battery-electric vehicles are starting to pile up on dealer lots. To help shift these unwanted vehicles, automakers are turning to steep discounts and sweetheart leases to keep moving the EVs along to owners. Check out our list which includes Tesla.

If you need any proof that EVs have suddenly jumped the shark in terms of popularity, here it is. During the vehicle shortage from 2019 to 2022, all vehicles were selling at steep markups, battery-electrics included. Now that factories have been open and staffed for a while, the shortages have ebbed. 

Battery-electric vehicles, even those made by Tesla, have seemed to fall out of favor if the heavy discounting we see today is any indication. To keep the BEVs from piling up on dealers’ lots, automakers are returning to the days of steep discounts and ridiculously low lease prices. Here are a few quick examples. However, our list is not comprehensive. If you are shopping for a battery electric vehicle, be sure you do your homework to see which are being offered with cash on the dash. Also, be sure you read our story on why you’d have to be crazy to buy a CCS-style charger-equipped BEV in 2024. 

EV Deal Number One - Subaru Soltera
The Subaru Soltera is a fine automobile, but it could not be more different than its stablemates. Subaru owners (of which I have been four times) are a tight club. It’s close to being a cult. We buy Subies because they are inexpensive and fantastic off-pavement and in wicked winter weather. The Soltera isn’t any of these things. 

We spoke to a person closely associated with Subaru who wishes to remain nameless. She told us that the Soltera is now so overstocked that its “days on the lot” are measured in hundreds of days. Popular vehicles have days on the lot under 30 days. 

Subaru’s Soltera deal is a $399 per month lease for 36 months with no money down. Any lease with no money down is usually a good deal, and this one is amazing. There’s a lot to like about the Soltera, so if you are a Subaru fan and want to go electric, run to your local dealer. 

EV Deal #2 - Nissan Ariya
The Nissan Ariya we tested had a shocking sticker price of over $60K, but the vehicle starts in the neighborhood of $45K. The lease deal we uncovered is for the more moderately priced trim. According to Inside EVs and CarsDirect, leases for Ariyas are as low as $199 per month! That’s less than a latte-per-day habit at Starbucks! These deals vary by location, but Inside EVs estimated the deal saves those who lease as much as $10K over the period of the lease. 

EV Deal #3 - Just-Released All-New Chevy Blazer EV
The Chevy Blazer EV is GM’s newest battery-electric vehicle. This fourth-generation EV from the General features great looks and is one of the first to use GM’s new Ultium battery technology. This new EV impressed the folks at MotorTrend so much that they named it the 2024 SUV of the year. It’s outrageous that an all-new EV like this is being discounted just weeks after the first deliveries, but these are the times in which we live. Costco Auto Program is offering members $1,000 off the price of a Blazer EV. 

EV Deal #4 Toyota bZ4X
The Toyota bZ4X is a lot like the Soltera. If you are a Toyota fan and plan to purchase and finance instead of leasing, Toyota will offer you a fantastic finance rate of under 2% plus throw “$2,500 cash on the dash.”

EV Deal #4 Ford Mustang Mach-E
One interesting deal is the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Ford is offering customers a low finance rate plus $3,000 “cash on the dash.”

EV Deal #5 Hyundai Ioniq 5
Hyundai is offering combined discounts of up to $10,000 on select Ioniq 5 BEVs. We found our deal online with almost no searching. We would recommend shoppers look closely before they buy any other BEV in this crossover’s price range. 

EV Deal # 6 - Tesla Model 3
On Tesla’s website, there is a tab for “New Inventory” under each model heading. We looked at the Model 3 and found that nearly all in-stock Model 3 vehicles were being discounted, many by as much as $3K to $4K. These deals change based on what is in stock, so check out the deals. Also, every model we looked at from Tesla had discounts (S3XY).

As you can see, automakers can no longer sell battery electric vehicles without discounting them. We can’t predict the coming year, but with inventory growing and EV excitement waning, we suspect this will not be the last we see of heavy discounts on battery-electric vehicles. 
 

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.

Image of Nissan Ariya deal courtesy of Country Nissan. Subaru Soltera deal image courtesy of Subaru of New England. Image of Chevy Blazer deal courtesy of Costco Autos. Image of bZ4X deals courtesy of Toyota. Image of Ford Mustang Mach-E inventory by John Goreham. Image of Hyundai Ioniq 5 inventory from 2022 courtesy of Ron Demarco.