Electric vehicles have long been seen as crucial to moving the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels: Many Americans are too car-addicted to abandon their personal vehicles, and the country is too tethered to its highways and suburbs to make a quick switch to a full-scale European-style public transportation system. (Sorry, mass-transit advocates.) A fleet of EVs, running on clean electricity, could help slash the 28 percent of U.S. emissions that come from transportation. But often, possible EV buyers are understandably scared off by the higher sticker price. But what about over the lifetime of a vehicle? Shannon Osaka digs into this tricky question.
If you’re curious about our methodology, we used a 2020 report from Consumer Reports, showing the difference in lifetime fueling costs of Crossovers/SUVs ($11,200) and maintenance ($4,600) for all models.
The link to to the full report is here [PDF]: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EV-Ownership-Cost-Final-Report-1.pdf
And the shortened writeup about it here: https://www.consumerreports.org/hybrids-evs/evs-offer-big-savings-over-traditional-gas-powered-cars/
Sources
Congressional Research Service: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11017.pdf
2 EVs for every 100 new cars purchased stat: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21122020/electric-vehicles-in-2020/
Department of Energy electric chargers by zip code: https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html#/find/nearest?fuel=ELEC
Roughly half of Americans unable to receive full tax benefit:
Household Income Percentile Calculator for the United States
Additional reading:
The EV tax credit can save you thousands — if you’re rich enough
https://grist.org/energy/the-ev-tax-credit-can-save-you-thousands-if-youre-rich-enough/
How to ensure electric cars aren’t just for rich people
https://grist.org/justice/making-electric-cars-more-equitable/
In Chicago, ‘charging deserts’ part of racial divide on electric vehicles
In Chicago, ‘charging deserts’ part of racial divide on electric vehicles
Buying an Electric Vehicle? Here Is Some Advice.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/electric-vehicle-ev-buying-guide.html
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