EV leases were once the ultimate "why not" deal. Now that those leases are maturing, returning customers are discovering a very different market, and a lot of them are landing on hybrids instead.
Average EV lease payments bottomed at $538 in July 2025, with some deals dipping under $100 a month. By June 2026, that average climbed to $707, compared to $607 for a non-EV lease.
J.D. Power found 96% of EV owners would consider another EV, but affordability and available models are increasingly deciding whether they actually do. In California, hybrids captured 22.1% of new-car sales in the first half of 2026 versus 15.9% for EVs.
There is defection from that EV market. It is a mental hurdle to say, "Man, I used to be paying $200 a month. Now you guys want $500?"
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The Home Charger Sitting Empty Is the Real Story
Plenty of these customers genuinely loved their EV. One buyer leased an Ioniq 6 for around $349 a month, bragged about the deal to friends, and loved the car. When the lease came up, the replacement math didn't work, and the household ended up with a Civic Hybrid sitting next to a home charger with nothing to plug into it. That's not a customer who soured on electric driving. That's a customer who got priced out of staying in it, with a piece of hardware in the garage as a reminder.
Plug-In Hybrids Are the Natural Landing Spot, and Most Floors Aren't Pitching Them That Way
A buyer who liked having a plug but can't stomach the new EV payment isn't necessarily choosing between "electric" and "not electric." A plug-in hybrid keeps the thing they actually liked, charging at home, an EV mode for daily driving, while sidestepping the sticker shock and range anxiety that pushed them away from a full EV. Most sales conversations still treat hybrid and plug-in hybrid as interchangeable. For this exact customer, they aren't. The plug-in is the closer match to what they're used to.
What This Means for Your Store
Build a specific talk track for lease-return customers coming off an EV: acknowledge the payment jump directly rather than dancing around it, and have a plug-in hybrid ready to show alongside the standard hybrid option.
A customer who feels like they're settling for "less electric than before" is a much harder sell than one who feels like they found the version of electric that actually fits their budget now.
