According to a study, the real cost of owning an electric car is $17 per gallon.
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The narrative surrounding electric vehicles appears to have shifted recently from one of frantic production and quick adoption to one of declining interest and investment pullbacks.
In what it described as an effort to assure profitability, General Motors (GM) - Get Free Report delayed its upcoming EV lineup and pushed back its EV targets; Hertz is slowing down the electrification of its fleets, partly due to low resale value; Ford (F) - Get Free Report delayed investing $12 billion in electric vehicles; and Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report is still in the midst of a pricing war aimed at luring in skeptics.
Customer interest is still waning even though some data indicates that EV adoption is increasing, with EV sales accounting for a record 7.9% of all industry sales in the third quarter.
S&P Global Mobility conducted a poll in May and discovered that, compared to 86% of respondents who were open to making such a purchase in 2021, only 67% of respondents are open to purchasing an EV.
Even though EV adoption may be rising, the industry is growing less quickly as consumer interest is cooled by worries about cost and range.
The largest barrier to EV adoption is price: S&P
Price is the primary pressure point in the shift to electric vehicles (EVs), according to S&P, so it's no accident that Tesla is still steadfastly committed to cutting its costs.
"Multiple hurdles need to be cleared to achieve widespread EV adoption," stated S&P. "Buyers may want to wait for the next technological advance, or have concerns about charging time and charger availability, but in the end, consumer finances — not engineering — lead the current buying resistance to EVs."
Variations between early adopters and the general population also contribute to the adoption curve gap.
In August, TheStreet was informed by Jeremy Michalek, a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon, that early adopters typically had garages, which allowed them to charge their electric vehicles at home and over night. The main issues for the second, larger wave of adopters, who lack access to overnight charging, are stronger batteries, longer vehicle range, and improved charging infrastructure.
Owning an EV costs $17 per gallon: Texas-based group.
According to a Texas Public Policy Foundation report from October, the cost of owning an electric vehicle (EV) rises significantly when all hidden expenses are taken into consideration, making it far more expensive than a car with an internal combustion engine.
The Koch brothers, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron provided the majority of the foundation's funding, according to 2012 tax filings. The foundation is a conservative think tank. The New York Times claims that the group has been trying for years to encourage the use of fossil fuels while discouraging the United States' move toward renewable energy sources.
An executive at the organization tweeted last year, "Today, I'm thankful to live a high-carbon lifestyle and wish the rest of the world could too." The group has been fighting against green energy. Poverty = energy poverty. Decarbonization is lethal and dangerous."
After accounting for government subsidies, the cost of charging stations, and the additional load on the electrical grid, the group's report asserts that the "true cost of fueling an EV would equate to an EV owner paying $17.33 per gallon of gasoline."
According to the report, ICE owners are footing the bill for the "entire infrastructure to refine, transport, and market that gasoline" when they purchase a gallon of fuel.
"When an EV owner connects to the electric grid, how much are they paying for the extra generation, transmission, and distribution costs that they are imposing on the grid, and will those embedded costs rise over time?"
Three distinct areas of hidden EV ownership costs are identified by the report: the first one pertains to direct subsidies, like the $7,500 federal tax credit. Indirect subsidies, specifically avoiding state and federal fuel taxes, are the subject of the second.
According to the report, this is problematic because fuel taxes go toward funding road construction and maintenance, and since electric vehicles (EVs) are heavier than equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, they should pay more in fuel taxes instead of less.
This indirect subsidy includes a portion that addresses the additional load that electric vehicles (EVs) place on the grid.
"Generation, transmission, distribution and overhead costs for utilities are all affected by EVs, and it is crucial for the future of the electric grid that EVs charge at times that reduce demand volatility rather than increase it as is often the case today," according to the report.
