Featured Real-World Electric Vehicle Fueling Costs May Surprise New EV Drivers

One should always use local cost and metrics. For Huntsville AL:

• $0.12 / kWh (Huntsville utilities)
  • ~1/3 shopping miles are free chargers
• $2.75 / gal regular (gas buddy)
• $3.01 / gal premium (gas buddy)

We have two EVs:

• 2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus Model 3
  • 25 kWh / 100 miles (EPA metrics)
• 2014 BMW i3-REx
  • 29 kWh / 100 miles (EPA metrics)
  • 39 MPG (EPA metrics)

2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range

• $0.12 * 25 = $3.00 / 100 miles
• $0.03 / mile
• $0.02 / mile including free miles

2014 BMW i3-REx

• $0.12 * 29 = $3.48 / 100 miles
• $0.0348 / mile
• $0.030 / mile including free miles

I don't have a basis of estimate for Rex operation but you are welcome to do your estimate. The problem is cross country travel is exposed to different gasoline costs. Furthermore, cross country miles are difficult to estimate.

So I can not replicate the claimed study results. You really need to do your local calculations.

Bob Wilson

 

Electricity isn’t as cheap as it used to be while gas is still pretty cheap compared to the Bush JR years.

Those 2 things make the price parity for “fueling” closer than it should be but still somewhat cheaper leaning EV in most areas.

Once you figure taxes and the higher up front cost of a typical BEV your probably driving at a higher TCO even after reduced maintenance.

Really depends on what gas vehicles you would be driving VRS what EV alongside your local situation. Solar and other related local decisions also may make a big difference to the value metrics.

End of the day main reasons to drive a BEV aren’t normally just due to costs but it’s worth running the numbers for your situation

One would hope we could railroad consistent policy on the charging / taxation side nationwide to level or even motivate the playing field but that seems hopeless at this point. Some states are “fairer “ than others, outside moving not much to be done.

 

• Annually, presuming 12,000 miles driven, it would cost $1,030 to drive a gas car versus $1,554 for an EV.

^^ I understand that it was a real study and all, but that sounds insane. If that were 100 percent true for everyone, who the heck would spend the extra $$ for an EV? Instead of a 2021 Toyota Prius for $27k, get a 2021 Nissan Versa which gets 40MPG highway, and can be had for $18k or so with packages & options, but it starts at $15,080! It won't have all the comfy tech features of the Prius, unless you spend more or move up to the Sentra or Altima, but.... yeah I don't get it. Then factor in the rebates $4,502 fed tax rebate and state rebates if you got the 2021 Prius Prime... I do not know. If the numbers were $1,030 for a gas car and $1,100 for an EV, I could maybe say to myself, well I guess that's all dependent on their methodology; but we are talking a $524 difference here - not to mention the usual higher cost of the EV vehicle:

2022 Toyota Corolla: $20,075 starting price
2022 Toyota Corolla Hybrid: $23,650 starting price
-----
2022 Toyota Camry: $25,295 starting price
2022 Toyota Camry Hybrid: $27,3870 starting price
-----
2022 Honda Accord: $25,470 starting price
2022 Honda Accord Hybrid: $26,670

Now if we are talking about plug in and fully electric vehicles ONLY, then this all changes. Because there is no "regular" gasoline run 2022 Nissan Leaf. There is only the 2022 fully electric Nissan Leaf. If thats the case then this all changes, I suppose! LOL..

Actually, one should compare our own. 2022 Prius Prime vs 2022 Prius. Even though its only a 25-30 mile charge, it still takes 5-6 hours for that to complete on a standard house/garage outlet, and of course that costs $. Also factor in the extra 265+lbs thats in the rear of the Prime for the battery.... I do not know. This is a tough one.

 

Here's why you could not replicate the study results. It is including cost of ownership and you are only looking at gas and home electricity costs.

The study included this section:
EVs are often presumed to be less expensive to fuel than their ICE coun-
terparts. There is a rationale in physics for this: due to greater thermal
efficiency, electric motors convert energy more efficiently than combus-
tion engines. However, this cost is only one of five. For a complete pic-
ture, we must consider:
Commercial and residential electric power/fuel costs.
Registration taxes.
3. Equipment (e.g., chargers) and installation costs.
4. Deadhead miles incurred driving to a charger or fueling station.
5. The cost of time spent refueling.

The costs of energy from the Tesla Supercharger network is hard to determine unless you have an account with tesla. All you find online is spot prices that may vary from place to place and day to day.

I have to agree with the study: if you want to get people to buy into EVs, you need to make the total cost of ownership better than what is available from a PHEV like the Prius Prime. When running in EV mode the Prius matches (within a percent or two) the top BEVs for emissions abatement while having less environmental impact from building the car and significantly lower maintenance costs.

 

Let me suggest using fueleconomy.gov for fueling costs:


Do any of these cars seem familiar?

The first one is mine, on the driveway with 59,045 miles after 2 years, 10 months.

Bob Wilson

 

people who think buying an ev will save them money are on a fools errand

 

I'm waiting for the study on how much time and money is spent on maintenance of those ICE vehicles. I'm sticking with my two EVs.

 

Regarding;

3. Cost to buy/install evse ~ $250-$550 depending on whether you already have a 240v circuit or not. So if you charge a couple times a week, for 5 to 7 years of ownership, you're looking at roughly $1 per use .... maybe an extra 2¢/mile
4. Deadhead? An EV that gets 200 - 250 miles will refill at home 95% of the time. WAY less deadhead cost then a gasser.
5. Plugging in at home, end of day took us an average of 10 to 12 seconds - plug in & unplug in the morning. Less time wasted then with a Gasser sitting in line for 15 minutes at Costco.

What this survey fails to address is that many ev owners install solar panels - & many more are planning to. it took us 6 years of free electricity to amortize the cost of the panels that supply both of our cars and our whole house period. So after that? we were driving pretty much on free fuel. on the other hand you don't find many people running a personal refinery on their rooftop for your Gasser.
.

 

Been working out for me since 2019 when I got my first Leaf. I'm on my 3rd one now. 74,000 EV miles.

 

A gas tank in a 20 Y.O. Ford pickup holds exactly the same amount of fuel as it did when new. The fuel container (battery) in a 20 Y.O. Ford lightning will hold substantially less fuel than when new.

Combine that with expectation that in future years batteries are expected to be much better than current ones, how will that effect resale value?

Not sure how to take that into account in TCO.

 

take into account the 20-year old gas in a pickup or any Gasser will substantially have turned into varnish. The electrons, although a given there will be parasitic loss, the remaining ones will still be fresh.
The real question would be why did you buy either of the 2 vehicles that you never use.
Just a red herring?
.

 

From the article:

• Level 1 chargers cost an average of $600 to install and can take 20 hours to fully charge an EV.
  
  
• Level 2 chargers are much faster but cost $1,600.

Really? How many of us spend any money at all to install a level 1 charger?

The article is sus. Calculate the true costs of everything for yourself, don't just go by what someone says.

 

I had to replace the gas tank in a 12 year old Ford (not a pickup, but the Ranger pickup used the same platform) because it had rusted through.

 

Level 1 chargers come with the car.

 

That's my point. It seems like the author has an agenda.

 

I do not think this study is worth anything as their numbers seem far off on purpose. They did not include tesla's even though they have the most market share in the US. I guess if you charge on the road all the time and not at home or office, then their numbers make sense, but ... that is a really bad assumption.

A potential EV or PHEV buyer should look into the cost of their own electricity and cost of installing charging equipment. These vary widely.

If I had a 240 VAC dryer outlet in my garage the charger that came with my tesla would have cost $0. To have the dryer outlet installed and the break out of the line cost $1500. My brother has an older house in atlanta, it would have cost him $4000 to upgrade his power and get it installed. For me I expect to live in the house for 20 years and we may be getting a second plug in ;-) That and the $213 georgia plug-in tax a year was a deal breaker for my brother.

Yes this is the assumption that really makes the numbers look ridiculous.

I really like not waiting at gas stations ;-)

My panels have an 11 year payback period. This also depends greatly on where you live. They are warranted for 25 years, but I would never call the electricity free. Still it is much cheaper than gasoline

 

My personal experience is that it costs $.85 to charge the PP ($.13 per KWH) to drive roughly 25 miles. It costs me $50. more or less to fill the tank in my 4Runner ($3.50 per gallon) to go about 200 miles. (14 mpg and 14 gallons). That comes to 7.3 times more expensive to drive the 4Runner than the PP.