Mullen Automotive announced a new lease program for the Mullen One, Class 1 EV cargo van. The new lease program, bizEV, focuses on individuals, small businesses, and fleets and is available through Mullen authorized dealers.

A turnkey lease program that includes vehicle maintenance, bizEV allows customers to transition to an EV with a 3-year lease option, starting at $475 per month, plus applicable taxes and fees. The program offers various options to experience EV ownership benefits and cost savings without the barrier of traditional upfront costs.  

The Mullen One is a Class 1 commercial electric vehicle built in response to the demands of urban last-mile delivery. The EV cargo van is designed to navigate narrow urban streets and residential roads with maximum payload and cargo space, making it ideal for various commercial fleet applications.

"By offering flexible lease options, we are making our commercial EVs available for a wider range of customers, in line with our mission to accelerate the adoption of sustainable transportation solutions," David Michery, CEO and chairman of Mullen Automotive, said.

The Mullen One is currently available for sale at an MSRP of $34,500.

Fleet View: Mullen One bizEV Lease Program

A closed-end lease for commercial vehicles is good news for fleets.

Electric passenger cars are now entering the aftermarket in greater numbers, and sales prices at auctions are showing up in valuation services such as Black Book, Kelley Blue Book, and Automotive Lease Guide (ALG). Those values are being used to assign depreciation to vehicle models, which is the largest factor in total cost of ownership.

Yet the commercial electric vehicle market is only at the starting block with new vehicle sales. We then won’t see used commercial EVs coming through auction lanes for some time, and without those values, it will be hard to calculate true depreciation.

A lease structure with defined payments will allow the user to write a fleet budget more precisely and not have to worry about the vehicle’s residual value uncertainty in three years.

The ability to walk away from the lease provides greater peace of mind regarding battery technology, which will likely advance to the point that newer batteries will be more efficient and have greater range.

Certainly, there is a risk to technology advancements for the auto manufacturers, but they would have more resources to manage the vehicles’ disposal.