Interest-free financing on a new EV is uncommon, but you can take advantage of it now on the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace.

This time of year, car sales are down in general. It's winter and few people want to shop for a car in the cold weather. Additionally, finances may be strapped after overspending during the holidays. Also, due to fantastic end-of-the-year deals, many people already bought their new car. In the final quarter of any year, automakers are pushing out 2018 inventory to make room for 2019 stock. In addition, they're promoting 2019 models with enticing incentives and trying to sell as many cars as possible to end the year on a high note.

When it comes to EVs, buying at the beginning of the year just doesn't make sense to many people. EVs qualify for the $7,500 federal rebate, which comes at tax time. Few buyers would want to wait nearly a year to take advantage of the rebate, so buying late in the year is more appealing. Add the fact that it's cold in many areas and there's been plenty of news about electric vehicles being a bad choice in cold weather. So, what does an automaker do to promote sales?

The Deal

Jaguar is now offering 0% financing on its new, all-electric I-Pace crossover. The incentive also applies to a respectable, five-year term. The deal is actually valid for most Jaguar vehicles through April 1, 2019. According to Jaguar USA:

All new 2019 Jaguar I-PACE models eligible for financing at the APR shown for well-qualified buyers as determined by approved lender. Payments per month per $1,000 financed, regardless of amount of down payment, can be as low as $16.67 at 0% for 60 months. All amounts shown are estimates. Retailer sets actual amounts. Supplies are limited. Taxes, title, license and fees excluded. Residency restrictions apply. Customer must take new vehicle delivery from retailer stock by 4/1/2019. See your participating Jaguar Retailer, visit JAGUARUSA.COM or call 1.800.4.JAGUAR / 1.800.452.4827 for qualifications and complete details. Jaguar or approved lender may rescind or amend this offer without notice. © 2019 Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC

What Will An I-Pace Cost?

Sadly, there are no lease incentives available for the I-Pace, even though Jaguar is offering lease promotions on many of its other vehicles. While zero-percent financing is a hard deal to beat and is the most financially wise, lease deals tend to drive up sales at an even greater rate. Even though no lease specials are available, you can use Jaguar's lease calculator to get an idea on a monthly lease payment. A 36-month, 10,000-mile-per-year lease with zero down starts around $1,157.98.

To give you an idea about what your payment might be with the 0 APR offer, we calculated it on the Jaguar USA website. For the base I-Pace EV400 ($69,500), with zero down for 60 months at 0 APR, you can expect to pay a base price of $1,175.42 per month.

I-Pace Compared To Tesla

For comparison, even though we've said time and time again that the Tesla Model X is much different from the I-Pace, we checked Tesla's website for payment options. The $88,000 Model X will cost you about $1,338 per month to lease (36 months, zero down, 10,000 miles) and $1,450 per month to finance for 60 months. However, the finance calculation includes 3.75% APR and $10,000 down, since Tesla's website won't allow you to put zero down, and zero interest in not available through Tesla. A Model S lease starts at $1,286, and the finance payment sits at $1,395 with $10,000 down. Financing a Model 3 will cost you $716 per month with $5,000 down.

The I-Pace has been on sale in the U.S. for four months. Thus far, just over 600 have been delivered on our shores. For comparison, Tesla delivered 367 Model 3 vehicles in its first four months and only about 160 Model S and 214 Model X vehicles during the same time frame. With that being said, I-Pace sales seemed to be off to a decent start with all things considered. In Europe, the crossover has been on sale for nine months and deliveries have surpassed 6,000. However, the automaker only delivered about 1,000 globally in January, which is a significant drop from previous months, but expected this time of year.

Source: Electrek