Nissan Leaf EV to cost £397 a month in UK

Tax exempt, Congestion Charge free and costing buttons to fuel. That's the claim from Nissan, which today revealed its new Leaf electric car will be available to lease in the UK from £397 per month.

Nissan will take a £3850 deposit for a personal contract purchase scheme and then charge £397 a month.

It confirmed the Leaf will be exempt from road tax, Congestion Charge in London and - in some cities - parking charges. Charging costs will be low, too, making the Leaf a tempting proposition.

Secondhand price analysts at CAP predict the electric Leaf will retain 47% of its price after three years/30,000 miles. That's when you factor in the Government's £5000 incentive.

Alternatively, because this is a PCP finance scheme, you can hand the Nissan Leaf back to your dealer after three year and walk away, refinance or buy another Nissan.

According to Nissan and CAP, this makes the Leaf a better buy than rivals. Take these figures with a pinch of salt (manufacturers tend to pick their rivals' specs very carefully), but the residual value (RV column) still makes interesting reading for any electric car sceptics:

Nissan Leaf vs rivals

RV 3yr/30k

% retained value

Nissan Leaf

£11,375

47%

Toyota Prius T-Spirit

£9075

39%

Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi auto

£6675

33%

Vauxhall Astra 2.0 CDTi auto

£7175

31%

By Sarah-Jayne Harrison