Folsom-based fintech company EV Life Inc. has launched a platform to help electric car buyers lower their upfront monthly loan payments by tapping into tax credits, incentives and rebates.
Some of those incentives and credits get funded only after 18 months of new car ownership.
“The No. 1 barrier to electric vehicle adoption is upfront vehicle price," said EV Life co-CEO Kevin Favro. “The demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, and our platform is filling a gap in the finance marketplace by removing the hassle and putting the customers first."
EV Life launched in 2019 to help consumers find and get all the incentives and perks associated with buying an electric car.
The company's website has been up for several years, offering information, education and research about electric vehicles and chargers. That site now also allows customers to get a loan through its platform.
EV Life helps customers find the federal, state, local and local air district incentives for their address to buy an EV. And then, based on those incentives, it helps them get an EV Climate Loan that the company says can lower monthly payments by up to $200.
Once the customer buys the car, they still need to apply for all their incentives. EV Life's website has a navigator tool that gives them step-by-step instructions and deadlines.
EV Life got a $5 million loan guarantee from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, or IBank, with which the company funded a debt facility where it uses an outside fintech company that is licensed to make auto loans. EV Life isn't naming its initial lending partners because it plans to build a lender marketplace through its platform, said spokeswoman Kristin Robinson.
EV Life plans to build a portfolio of loans made through the platform and then sell that on the secondary market to banks or credit unions. The company expects to make money by building an incentive service fee into the loan, and then later by reselling the loan. Favro declined to disclose the amount of the fee.
EV Life is starting with marketing to consumers directly on its site, and then it will move to supporting original equipment manufacturers to work with their captive finance arms as well as with credit unions and banks, said Peter Glenn, EV Life's other co-CEO.
The founders chose to start with the direct-to-consumer model to show that they have a simple and seamless process and to "prove that this is something the consumer wants," Favro said.
EV Life is in discussions with captive auto finance companies as well as credit unions and banks.
Most people who buy an EV already do a lot of searching online, Glenn said. The best-selling EVs, made by Tesla Inc., are sold primarily online. Of the handful of loans EV Life originated before launching, most of them were for Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) cars, Glenn said.
For the buyers of EV Life's car loans, many are also attracted because EVs fulfill environmental, social and corporate governance goals. Some companies have carbon reduction as an ESG goal. EVs offer about 80% carbon reduction with a product that is easy to quantify, Glenn said. For companies interested or required to meet ESG goals, EVs in the portfolio help.
The typical EV buyer is also an attractive customer to banks and credit unions, Glenn said, citing research that EV buyers are five times less likely to be late in making payments than gas-powered car buyers.
The company has four full-time employees, and contractors working on software, marketing and design work.
EV Life won the $10,000 top cash prize in Elk Grove’s inaugural Pitch Elk Grove startup competition last year.
The kernel for what is now EV Life was borne of a Startup Weekend hackathon in 2019 at the Granite City coworking office in Folsom.
