$5k of depreciation per year plus $7500 evaporating into a tax credit might make buying the used one feel like a much wiser decision. I followed the development through the release of the Volt with avid interest, but set the dream aside when it became a "starting at $35k" car. The first one I found that I could afford, I bought, priced as it was because it was an ex-lease car that had wandered around various used lots for months.