According to slashgear, the goal of the electric vehicle revolution is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, reduce emissions, and reduce the impact of transportation on climate change. These are all very good, but when it comes to individual consumers, there is another expected benefit that often gets the most attention: saving fuel costs** Although charging an electric car costs money, of course, the cost is usually lower than that of a tank of gasoline -- although calculating the overall fuel savings is more cumbersome.
US Department of energy fuel economy website Allows users to compare fuel savings between gasoline, hybrid and all electric vehicles. According to the tools of the website, a 2022 Nissan LEAF sv/sl can save an average of $9250 in fuel costs for car owners in five years, the same as the 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5 all wheel drive. On the other hand, the 2022 Tesla Model 3 long-range all wheel drive version can save more costs in five years, reaching US $10000. These figures seem straightforward, showing that thousands of dollars can be saved each year. However, there are a number of factors to consider, including the state of vehicle operation and whether people mainly use household or public charging systems.
In October, 2021, Anderson economic group released a report , the cost of fuel vehicle and electric vehicle is compared, and it is concluded that electric vehicle may be more expensive than fuel vehicle. However, in preparing this report, Anderson group used the data of most electric vehicles charged by commercial charging stations. The group has also increased hidden costs, such as the time it takes to recharge. In some cases, the cost of using a public charging point is three times that of charging at home.
Charging costs and fuel savings will depend on which charger the driver uses. According to travel and leisure, it takes 24 hours for the level 1 charger to charge the electric vehicle; They are the slowest chargers, but they are also the cheapest. Level 2 -- the most popular charger -- can provide about 28 miles of endurance in an hour at prices ranging from $1 to $5 per hour, depending on the state. The level 3 fast charger is the most expensive, but it can make the electric vehicle reach 80% of the power in an hour, and the cost is $10 to $30.
The cost of Tesla super charger is also difficult to estimate because of local electricity price and the size of car battery. According to the charging cost calculator provided by impact investor, the charge for model 3, model y or model s may be between $10 and $20 for most people. Gasoline prices also vary from state to state. Finder reported in April, 2022 that the cost of refueling ram 2500 is about $109, while the cost of Jeep Grand Cherokee or Toyota 4runner is $79, and the cost of refueling Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda cx-30 or Honda CR-V can reach $45 or less.
In the United States, electricity tariffs vary greatly from city to city and state to state, and prices have been increasing due to various factors, including inflation and the economic slowdown during the post pandemic recovery. CNBC in March, 2022 report In some U.S. cities, electricity bills have been rising at a rate similar to that of gasoline; However, when it comes to fuel costs, the savings provided by electric vehicles are still huge. The report also said that although gasoline prices may decline in the coming months, the operating price of electric vehicles may not exceed the cost of traditional vehicles in the end.
Choose energy lists Hawaii, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and California as the top five states with the highest energy prices. According to the data of the US energy information administration, from February 2021 to February 2022, California's electricity bill increased by 13.6%. The growth rate in Illinois was 14.5%, compared with 14.9% in New Hampshire and 16.7% in Connecticut. In the past year or so, almost all States have experienced an increase in energy bills, although not all States have reached such a dramatic level.
In other words, although energy prices in the United States are rising across the board, gasoline prices are also rising. Although in the United States, owning an electric car is likely to save a lot of fuel costs compared with owning a gasoline car. But the exact savings people see will be based in part on which region of the country they live in, their current electricity prices, and the electricity prices they will face in the coming months and years.