Tesla Model 3 becomes most popular EV to lease in the UK

The Tesla Model 3 was the UK’s the most popular electric vehicle to lease in May, according to the latest Leasing.com League Tables.

It came out ahead of other popular new electric models such as the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace, generating more personal lease enquiries within seven days than its premium rivals managed to achieve during the entire month.

Interest in the Model 3, I-Pace and e-tron has seen EV enquiries increase 30% year on year during the first five months of 2019.

Paul Harrison, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Leasing.com, said: “The Model 3’s popularity is down to several factors, with cost being one of them.

Monthly prices for the Model 3 start at around £400 per month, which is almost half the cost of Tesla’s larger models. It also undercuts comparable EVs such as the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace.

“Obviously the UK is one of the last countries to get the Model 3, and the long waiting period for right-hand drive models no doubt contributed to this huge early surge in interest too.

“It’s early days yet, but if the Model 3’s popularity continues at a comparable pace over the next few months, then Tesla could have delivered its first mass-market electric car.”

The Model 3 achieved similar success in Europe upon its release, topping the European pure electric vehicles (BEVs) registration race in February among a 92% overall volume increase.

It quickly outsold other big players like the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, despite being more expensive and only available for a short amount of time.

Most of the Model 3’s volume in February came from private registrations, which breaks the usual trend of a new vehicle’s volume being made up of business/fleet registrations.

It also achieved another record in February, as it became the top-selling premium midsize sedan in Europe – outperforming the popular Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series.