Posted on 01/22/2015 7:14:12 PM PST by jazusamo
Drivers trying to calculate whether it's practical to own an electric car are facing a new math.
U.S. gas prices have fallen more than $1 per gallon over the last 12 months, to a national average of $2.06, according to AAA. That makes electric cars — with their higher prices tags — a tougher sell.
"Fuel savings are not top of mind to many consumers right now," says John Krafcik, president of the car shopping site TrueCar.com.
Automakers have responded by slashing thousands of dollars off the sticker price of electrics. Incentives averaged $4,159 per electric car last year, up 68 percent from 2013, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average for all vehicles was $2,791.
The discounting, combined with new vehicles such as the BMW i3, the electric Kia Soul and the Mercedes B Class, boosted sales of electrics 35 percent last year, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. But the gains came before gas prices plunged in the second half.
So the discounting will likely continue. In January, the electric version of the Ford Focus was selling for an average of $25,168, or 16 percent lower than the sticker price of $29,995, according to TrueCar.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Ping.
Electric cars will remain inefficient for a very long time. Electric power storage technology is the severe range, power and cost issue. There is no practical replacement for hydrocarbon fuels.
These cars will remain a liberal political statement for some time to come.
The BMW i8 comes with a 3 cylinder gas engine and the BMW i3 can be ordered with a 2 cylinder gas range extender.
Kinda like wind and solar.
One issue that few mention is the resale value and expense. A lot of people would never be able to afford a used electric and the expenses involved with replacing batteries etc.
I didn’t read the article, but based on my math I still pay 21¢/gal if you count the electrical cost for me to charge my Nissan Leaf.
I don’t regret leasing it.
“One issue that few mention is the resale value and expense. A lot of people would never be able to afford a used electric and the expenses involved with replacing batteries etc.”
They are essentially throwaways.
why people are going apesh1t about gas being so low is beyond me. it’s going to be temporary, and will make’it’s’way baxk up for one or more reasons. good grief. it’s not going to be permanent.
Exactly...For the subsidies that have been dumped into wind and solar they still only supply 1 or 2 percent of our electric energy.
The world’s most expensive dixie cup.
Lithium Ion batteries? I assume these would be expensive.
Here in Michigan wind can’t pay back the loans the taxpayers “gave” them as it is.
It is a mostly a fair article except for one sentence.
It says the BMW 5 Series is competitor to the Tesla Model S.
Which is true. For every car out there. It implies the 5 Series is a direct competitor to the Model S. It is not. Model S is bigger with much more usable interior volume because there is no transmission tunnel. And a TOL Model S will smoke a TOL 5 Series or 6 Series to 60 and 1/4 mile. And is cheaper to fuel to boot.
The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe is a Model S direct competitor. It starts at $78k to the Model S’s $71k.
I drive my Model S every workday. And a lot of weekends. I have driven it from Los Angeles to Vancouver without spending a single dime on fuel using only Tesla’s Supercharger Network.
The legacy OEM’s don’t want to cannibalize their own high margin products so they market wierd looking crippled electric cars.
With Tesla’s new battery Gigafactory they will reduce battery cost by 30% in 2017 and 50% in 2020. At this point it will be cheaper for Tesla to build an electric powertrain than for the legacy OEM’s to build an equivalent ICE powertrain.
That is why Tesla will eat their lunch in the not too distant future.
What does the lease cost per month
I’ve been shopping 2013 off-lease hybrids knowing that gas prices having fallen so much would depress resale. Two lesser-known models have caught my attention. One, the 2013 Toyota Avalon. Expensive car when new, the interior fit, finish and materials on a par with Lexus. Hybrid system works well, 40 city, 39 highway. Can be found in the low to mid twenties with some shopping around. Second would be the Ford C-Max. Maligned a bit when new due to an EPA mileage controversy resulting in their having to back off of initially claimed 47/47 mpg claims, and there were some first year glitches in electronics that appear to have been straightened out. Well built car, high seating position like a small SUV. The “Energi” model is a plug-in hybrid, meaning that local driving can be practically all electric, 17 mile range on electric alone. Can warm or cool the car while plugged in. Upper teens to low twenties.
NO different that rebuilding transmissions and engines.
The cost of batteries today will not be the cost to replace battery packs in the future. And once battery packs are no longer viable for cars they are still good for energy storage.
$289 per month for me because I opted for a 15,000 mile/yr lease. I was just counting the fuel cost, not the lease cost.
My daily work commute is 75 miles per day. I was paying over $450 per month in gas alone to fill up in my Ford Explorer that I replaced with the Leaf. I also get a “free” charge at work because I have an app for the charger on site.
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