Why can't you lease an SE in the US?

@MrSnrub and I have been asking the same thing.

 

The USA rebate scheme appears to be very complex. It’s much simpler and transparent here

 

It is administratively much easier to provide a federal tax credit than go through 50 different state systems for dealerships. The Treasury doesn't have to come up with upfront cash.

 

And make it a partisan issue I’m sure

As it’s just odd for me considering how easy it is here in Canada. Fill out a couple papers and that’s about it. Similar in the UK when my friend bought his work van. Rebate gets applied at the dealer

 

We’re in Canada; he leased his, I almost leased mine. Sorry, no answers. We were just scratching our heads about it.

FWIW, Ford and now Nissan don’t allow lessees to buy out their EVs at the end of the term.

 

I'm going to guess that the BMW i3 lease returns didn't go so well in 2017-2018. The 2014-2015 60Ah BEV was dirt cheap and there was little demand.

I was looking for a 2018+ i3s BEV before the SE but everything was just REX models. After one BMW dealer started to quote $6,000+ for a "transmission leak" and "24 hour overnight parts from Germany" (auto consortium bought the dealer the previous year) I went to the other BMW/MINI dealer and traded in my F32 for the SE.

 

In Europe is available for leasing in pretty much every country

I don’t think that’s the reason, if any

 

Possibly, but I’d wager that all EVs sell in close to the same proportions up here as in the US. The MINI SE is barely promoted at all in Canada; when I stumbled upon it in March 2022, it was after giving up on getting my paws on an ID.4 or Ioniq 5 in a reasonable amount of time, so I googled “list of EVs for sale in Canada.”

 

There is no marketing for the SE. I think it’s due to the “range anxiety” and “cost”. We had heard about it after hearing chatter about it in the UK in 2019 and even went to the dealer in December 2019 but the dealer just had base info. Only reason we went was because I got an email for the launch event.

Our sales rep said the SEs they have sold have been mostly to existing Mini drivers

 

Yeah, that.

FWIW, I’m not disagreeing with @CuriousGeorge ; there’s a sihtload of A- and B-segment EVs in Europe.

 

I would say 75% cost and 25% range based on my fellow MINI drivers at local meetups. Also the sales manager is a total dousche which is probably overrides cost and range anyways.

 

I originally ordered a Solterra, but moved on to the SE because, with the loss of the tax rebate, it was cheaper. And the only reason that I knew about the SE was because someone on the Solterra forum mentioned it. Prior to that, I'd never heard of an electric MINI. (I don't watch TV and MINI doesn't seem to advertise in the publications that I read.)

It didn't hurt that I could order the SE in blue. (I still don't understand why the Solterra, Subaru's inaugural EV, wasn't available in Subie Blue. If there's one color that I associate with Subaru, it is blue. )

I was in the dealership last week to discuss tinting and other dealer added options for the SE. I finally saw a MINI in Island Blue. It looks like a fantastic colour for a MINI.

 

Most people we encounter are surprised to hear/see it’s electric. Including other EV owners such as the guy with the Bolt today

I see a fairly okayish amount of SEs on the road here. I’m not the only one in my area with one. There are 4-6 I’ve counted already

 

MINI does some advertising somewhere, but I don't know who they reach. This is the only commercial I ever saw for the SE, I don't remember how I found out about it.

 

That’s why I made that silly “electric” emblem. I get dirty looks when I sail down the HOV lane on the 20 (and I love it!).

There’s a bunch in the Waste Island now.