GM Offers Lease Plan to Power Homes with Electric Cars

Imagine your electric car keeping your lights on during the next power outage without dropping eight grand on equipment first.

GM Energy just announced a leasing program for home energy systems that turn electric vehicles into backup power sources. Instead of paying up to $8,098 upfront for the necessary hardware, homeowners can now spread the cost into monthly payments.

The program addresses a real pain point for the 246,000 people who bought GM electric vehicles with bidirectional charging in 2025. These cars can already send power back to a home, but they need expensive equipment to make it happen: a special bidirectional charger and an inverter kit to convert the car's battery power into usable household electricity.

Most high-end home battery systems store about 13.5 kilowatt-hours of energy. Many electric vehicles carry significantly more stored power in their batteries, making them powerful backup generators on wheels.

"What our intent is, always, from a GM and a GM Energy perspective, is to ensure that we're focusing on affordability by lowering the total cost of ownership for that customer," Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy, told reporters. He believes the lease option could even encourage more people to buy electric vehicles in the first place.

The company also offers a PowerBank storage system that captures electricity from solar panels or the grid for later use. Bundled with the vehicle-to-home charging system, the complete package ranges from $15,297 to $26,997 depending on battery size, plus installation costs.

The Ripple Effect

About 630,000 bidirectional-capable electric vehicles are already driving on American roads, according to Bloomberg. That's 630,000 potential mobile power plants that could keep families safe and comfortable during grid failures.

As climate-related power outages become more common, this technology transforms electric cars from transportation into resilience tools. The leasing model borrows directly from the auto industry's playbook, making advanced energy independence accessible to regular homeowners rather than just wealthy early adopters.

GM hasn't announced specific monthly payment amounts yet. The final cost depends on each home's electrical setup and available utility incentives, with more details coming later this year.

Turning your driveway into your own personal power station just got a lot more realistic for everyday families.