I have no plans on owning an EV, but this article is playing pretty loose with the facts to make its point as far as I can tell, i.e. factoring the cost of a charger in how much it costs to drive 200 miles, without explaining how long a charger might last and laying bare all the facts. Seems more like they started with a conclusion and twisted the facts to support it.
I presume it is still cheaper to run an EV - for most people - but not sure it offsets the extra costs of buying one, nor the risk of having a $22K battery needing replacing in 10+/- years.
Good points. Right now you are paying $10K+ extra upfront for an EV. Over the lifetime of a vehicle cheaper fuel and lower maintenance costs will break even. Even then the EV has to put up with long charge times and limited range.
That will change as there is no theoretical reason for an EV to cost more than an ICE. With fewer moving parts EVs should be cheaper to build. There is a future where EVs have a sticker price $10K below an equivalent ICE vehicle, and that’s when they will gain real market share.
” nor the risk of having a $22K battery needing replacing in 10+/- years.”
Tesla batteries are showing about 90% capacity after 200k miles or 9 years. Battery life can be extended by only replacing the few worst cells.
Elon says this should run $5k-$7k.
Older batteries should be good for 500k miles, newer one for 1,000,000 miles.
In November 2019, Hansjörg Gemmingen reached over 1 million kilometers (621,000 miles) with his 2013 Model S. The car was on its second battery, but the replacement battery was pre-owned. After 476,000 kilometers (300,000 miles) extra on the pre-owned battery, it had degraded 20 percent total. Gemmingen estimated that the battery had been used for 700,000 kilometers (435,000 miles) in total.
One thing they haven’t taken into account is that, if EV use ever gest common, just ignoring all other problems (e.g. from where does the grid get all that electricity), electric cars pay no road tax at all. They are the equivalent of driving a diesel car or truck with “dyed” off road diesel which, thanks to no road taxes, is a LOT cheaper than what you get at a gas station. It’s 20 -30 cents cheaper per gallon, depending on your state.
When a lot of people get electrics, the free ride is over. They’ll probably add a mileage tax. This is problematic, though, for “plug in” hybrids. They may use this excuse to create a mileage tax for all vehicles.
The batteries will need to be replaced. Count on it. To perform a real fuel cost analysis you have to amortize the battery replacement and 10 years is reasonable time. A battery is not just a fuel tank.
“I have no plans on owning an EV, but this article is playing pretty loose with the facts to make its point as far as I can tell, i.e. factoring the cost of a charger in how much it costs to drive 200 miles, without explaining how long a charger might last and laying bare all the facts. Seems more like they started with a conclusion and twisted the facts to support it.”
Totally agree. An asinine article.
Initial purchase price of the EV.
Optionally purchasing and paying for installation of a level 2 charger at home.
Electricity costs day/night, availability of solar and solar power storage. (more capital outlay, installation, maintenance).
Real world driving use, including heat and A/C.
Number of charge cycles in battery lifetime.
Replacement cost of batteries.
Maintenance vs gas powered vehicles.
Charging at home vs paying at a public charger.
I've probably only touched on half the real variables. With so many variables and assumptions built into any analysis or comparison you can probably skew the result any way you want to.
I believe that for some people in some situations EVs probably are cheaper (total cost of ownership/use) over the span of 5 years or so. Probably for most people EVs are not yet economical.
The biggest obstacle appears to be the initial cost delta. You have to run the vehicle at a lower cost per mile for quite a while to make back the premium paid up front. If you don't have access to relatively cheap electricity, it is going to take a long time, if ever.
My question is are they assuming the TRUE cost here, or including the freebies gov and woke businesses are offering…rebates! Free charge while you shop!
“I presume it is still cheaper to run an EV - for most people - but not sure it offsets the extra costs of buying one, nor the risk of having a $22K battery needing replacing in 10+/- years.”
No one is going to be buying a yacht with the savings, if any. The $22k battery is real money and if you do the math, it comes out to 22 cents per mile, if it’s good for 100,000 miles. And if you get rid of the car at 100,000 miles, the $22k will simply be deducted from the resale. So either way, you pay...
I have no plans on owning an EV, but this article is playing pretty loose with the facts to make its point as far as I can tell, i.e. factoring the cost of a charger in how much it costs to drive 200 miles, without explaining how long a charger might last and laying bare all the facts. Seems more like they started with a conclusion and twisted the facts to support it.