The Department of Energy said last week that any light electric vehicle available in the United States for the 2022 model year would save drivers thousands of dollars over gasoline or diesel vehicles, the Department of Energy said. amount said last week. blog post.
Each EV in the US market costs less than $1,000 to “fuel” (ie charge by electricity) for a year, compared with $2,000 to $7,000 for most gasoline-powered vehicles, according to the Department of Energy. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids are in the middle, with estimated annual fuel costs between $1,000 and $2,000.
Annual fuel costs for light vehicles model 2022 (via US Department of Energy)
Those calculations are based on 15,000 miles driven per year, with 55% driving in the city and 45% driving on the highway. They also assume a fixed cost of $4.87/gallon for regular gasoline, $5.76/gallon for premium, $5.72/gallon for diesel, and $0.13/kwh for electricity.
The Department of Energy also assumes an average price of $3.54 per gallon for the E85, which offers no significant advantage in fuel costs. Availability of E85 is results of the 2007 law requires a certain amount of ethanol to be blended with the fuel supply, but demand has yet to meet the target.
While gasoline prices have been steadily falling over the past few weeks, recent spikes have made the advantage of electric vehicles even more obvious. One analysis from the Zero Emissions Transport Association (ZETA) advocacy group based on May’s much higher gasoline prices, found that internal combustion cars are three to five times more expensive than electric vehicles.
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
And for those thinking about switching to an EV, the cost savings are a very compelling reason. Research published earlier this year by Plug-In America shows that interactors are more concerned with the cost savings than the environmental benefits of owning an electric vehicle.
Lower operating costs will also appeal to businesses — many can electrify their fleets fairly easily. Another recent study found that, on a fleet basis, nearly half of all gas-powered trucks could be replaced by electric vehicles – with a cost-of-ownership advantage.
