A precious metals shortage is pushing Nissan to rent, not sell, electric vehicles to customers

Aug 04 (fortune.com) - The circular economy is coming to electric vehicles for both environmental and financial reasons, as a leading Japanese automaker plans on starting a rental scheme for its battery-powered cars.

Drivers interested in making the switch to electric will soon have another option to do so in Japan, as Nissan—manufacturer of the Nissan Leaf, one of the earliest and bestselling electric cars on the market—is preparing to launch a new rental plan for its EVs, the Financial Times reports.

Nissan’s initiatives will operate as a subscription scheme.

Customers will sign up on a monthly basis, but Nissan hopes that they will rent electric cars for years before returning them, according to the FT.

The service will be exclusively available to Japanese customers.

The initiative will make it easier for Nissan to keep its electric cars inside the country, where the batteries can be reused. ...continue reading

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