With the price of gas up nearly 60% year over year, more and more people are considering the switch to an electric vehicle to save at the gas pump.
Is it genuinely cheaper to go electric, given that electric vehicles are often more costly than its gas-powered counterparts and the addition of the cost of electricity itself? Yes, in a nutshell, but that answer also relies on how you drive, where you reside and the specific electric vehicle (EV) you purchase as well. Another option to think about is getting a hybrid that can run off gas or electric.
Here’s how electric vehicles compare to gas-powered automobiles in terms of cost.
On the flip side, safety in an EV versus electric is about the same, as anyone can get into a car accident. This is why it’s important to have a car accident lawyer that you trust and can call if a crash occurs.
EVs Require a Larger Initial Investment
For anyone who is in search of an electric vehicle, you’re already aware that they have a much higher price tag. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price for an electric vehicle is more than $56,000, which equals $10,000 more than the industry’s $46,000 average, which combines both gas and electric vehicles. When you purchase an EV, it’s comparable to entering the luxury vehicle segment.
For EV owners, many will have a “Level 2” charger installed at their homes to minimize the time it takes to charge an EV, as well as prolong battery life. This costs roughly $2,000 to have done, but will allow you to charge your vehicle at home in under eight hours.
In general, EVs can take up to 40 hours to charge completely with the standard Level 1 charging connection that can be connected into the standard 120-volt home electric socket. While this is less costly, it is also inconvenient. Who wants to wait that long to charge their car?
Tax Incentives May Help Reduce The Costs Of Owning An EV
While polls suggest that the price difference between EVs and gas-powered vehicles will narrow over the next 10 years, this will be contingent on continuous advancements in EV batteries, which could result in lower manufacturing costs.
For now, lawmakers have implemented tax credits for potential buyers to offset part of the cost in purchasing one. For a newly purchased EV, the federal government grants a non-refundable tax credit of up to $7,500. However, this is a stipulation to this credit. It is limited only to the first 200,000 automobiles sold by a manufacturer. For brands like Tesla or GM, this credit no longer applies.
There may be a state-offered tax credit that you can look into. Some states may even offer rebates — a reimbursement of $2,000 is available in New York, for example.
EVs Are Usually Cheaper to Maintain
EVs will have a much larger purchase price at first, but owners will realize that they save on costs over time. According to a Consumer Reports paper, electric car users spend 60% less on gas than drivers of vehicles with an internal combustion engine.
While you have the ability to charge your vehicle from the comfort of your own home, many owners will typically use commercial charging stations, which costs as much as triple than charging at home. In fact, the total cost each session at a commercial station to completely recharge your car’s battery ranges from $15 to as much as $50. This, of course, will vary from state to state, depending on domestic power rates.
An electric vehicle will generally have cheaper maintenance expenses than that of a gas-powered vehicle since there are less components to worry about. Analytics company We Predict says that surviving an electric vehicle is more than 30% cheaper after three years of driving than gas-powered cars.
