With new rental rates ahead of Memorial Day, it’s currently cheaper to rent a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 6 than a Tesla Model 3, reports CarsDirect.
According to a Hyundai national dealer bulletin cited by CarsDirect, the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE is now available to rent for $429 per month for 36 months with $3,999 at signing. That’s based on an MSRP of $46,835, which applies to the long-range version of the Ioniq 5 SE which is EPA rated at 303 miles, with 10,000 miles allowed per year. It’s $70 off the previous monthly payment, according to CarsDirect.
The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 SE gets the same lease terms as the Ioniq 5, also showing a $70 drop in monthly payments. Both reduced rental rates are due to a $7,500 incentive that Hyundai is offering to lease this model. It’s likely an automaker’s attempt to exploit the Clean Commercial Vehicle Credit loophole, which allows automakers with captive finance companies to claim a $7,500 tax credit and pass the savings on to customers—even when the vehicle doesn’t otherwise qualify for the federal EV tax credit.
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5
So while the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 don’t qualify for a true federal EV tax credit under the new rules instituted under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), these incentives allow renters to save the same amount. And while the effective cost of this lease is still quite high—$540 per month, CarsDirect estimates—it still undercuts the Model 3.
At the time of publication, Tesla’s website showed the cheapest Model 3 rental at $399 per month for 36 months with $5,594 at signing. That works out to $554 a month, or $14 more than the two Hyundai models. It previously cost $56 more per month than this Model 3 rental, CarsDirect noted.
Other unexpected rental deals result from tax credit leasing loopholes, such as how the Toyota Prius Prime and its higher sticker price may be cheaper than the Prius hybrid to rent.
The period rental deals before the coronavirus shutdown and before the EV demand bubble, which saw EV rentals as low as $79 per month, are not returning—though there are some exceptions, such as when the Chevy Bolt EV was given a price cut and served as a way to phase out the 2021 model.
