What Is The Average Cost Of An Electric Car

How Much Does It Cost To Charge Your Ev At Public Charging Stations

Its one of the first questions people ask about electric vehicles is the cost to charge electric cars. This is usually going to be the most common thing that will concern people when using public charging stations.

The cost of charging an electric car at a public charging station depends on several factors. But to ballpark it, the average cost per kWh is between $0.40 and $0.70, and you get around 3 to 4 miles for every kWh. With this in mind, the average EV vehicle could require around $30 to be fully charged. A larger vehicle may cost around $40.

These arent universal prices, so keep in mind that you could be paying more or less at any given station. The biggest variable is whether youre using a level 1, level 2 or level 3 charger.

The three main types of charging stations have obvious advantages and disadvantages:

• Level 1 chargers

This is the most common charger to see in households, as it works in a normal home outlet. But it is a slow charging option that takes quite a few hours. Were talking about 10 to 40 hours, depending on the battery size. The main reason for this is that this charger is only 120 volts.

• Level 2 chargers

Level 2 chargers upgrade the voltage output to 240, which accelerates your charge time to just a few hours. But the cost is also higher than with a level 1 charger, whether youre charging at a public station or installing a charging station at home. A professional at-home installation could set you back between $2500 and $3000.

Final thoughts

Electric Vs Gas Cars: Cost Of Ownership Over Time

After 25 years, the ownership cost for the three vehicles is as follows:

• Tesla Model 3: $110,368
• Toyota RAV 4: $111,464
• BMW 3 Series: $151,880

This includes the purchase price of each vehicle which is split over the first 6 years. The BMW 3 Series was chosen as it has a similar price tag to the Tesla Model 3 and is consistently the most popular premium-gas vehicle.

Do Electric Cars Run Up Your Electric Bill

Electric car owners tend to charge their vehicles at home rather than in public charging stations. A $30 to $60 monthly fee will typically be charged to your electric cars utility bill. Electric vehicles are generally less expensive to fuel and maintain than conventional vehicles, but they are more expensive to purchase.

Electric cars are becoming more popular as people become more environmentally conscious. You can keep more than a hundred dollars in your wallet every month by driving a plug-in sedan for a thousand miles. According to studies, electric vehicle owners can expect to pay $4,600 less in maintenance over the course of their vehicles lives. To save money on electricity bills, you can charge your electric vehicle during off-peak hours. A hybrid vehicle reduces both CO2 emissions and carbon footprints within minutes . It is no longer possible to shop around for the best gas prices. The vehicle produces no tailpipe emissions, so there will be no exhaust fumes to be concerned about.

It is simple to reduce charging costs during off-peak hours. When it comes to the cost of replacing EV battery packs, the cost of doing so can be quite high. Most EV manufacturers provide extended battery warranty plans.

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General Motors To Invest $7 Billion In Manufacturing Electric Vehicles

And they found a lot more vehicles to choose from, as a flood of new electric models, in a wide range of sizes, styles and prices, have come on the market. They include the Kia EV6, Ford F-150 Lightning and Mercedes-Benz EQS. And more models are on the way. More than 50 are expected to be available by the end of the year.

For many drivers, the decision to buy an EV will be driven in large part by the answer to one question: Will I save money? On energy, immediately. But you have to consider the total ownership cost, said Carla Bailo, CEO of the Center for Automotive Research. And thats where things can get complicated.

Here are some of the biggest factors to consider:

Purchase price. The sale price for an EV, on average, was $60,054 in February. That compared to $45,596 on average for all new vehicles, including electric ones, according to data from Edmonds. When compared to comparable gas models, EVs typically cost 10 to 15 percent more, although prices have been climbing steadily over the past couple of years and are expected to continue to rise. This week, for instance, Tesla announced it would raise prices on all its models. The Model 3, Teslas least expensive and most popular car, jumped $2,000 to $47,000.

Bailo believes the price gap between EVs and conventional automobiles will narrow, as battery costs drop and lower-priced models, some below $30,000, become available. She predicts that by the middle of the decade, well have parity between comparable models.

Electric Car Maintenance Basics

In order to estimate your electric car repair costs, its important to understand how an electric car works. There are several components that are unique to electric cars:

• The lithium-ion battery pack, which stores electrical energy
• The electric motor and transmission, which powers the drivetrain
• The regenerative braking system, which recharges the battery
• The charging port, which connects the battery to a charger

Electric cars dont have an internal combustion engine , which can account for the majority of maintenance costs on a conventional vehicle. That means no crankshaft, no connecting rod, no pistons, and no carburetor.

Instead, EVs have an electric motor with a single-speed transmission and only a handful of moving parts. This can reduce your overall maintenance costs significantly.

That said, less maintenance doesnt mean no maintenance, and youll still have to keep an eye on the brakes, tires, and a few other components that can get worn down.

Be sure to check the manual to find out the recommended servicing schedule for your EV, which can vary a bit from model to model.

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Tax Credits Can The Lower Cost Of An Electric Vehicle

While surveys show that the price gap between EVs and gas-fueled vehicles is expected to shrink in the next decade, that will depend on continued improvements in battery technology, which could result in cheaper production costs.

In the meantime, customers can offset some of the premium paid for EVs through tax credits. The federal government offers a non-refundable tax credit worth $2,500 to $7,500 for newly purchased electric vehicles made after 2010.

However, the credit only applies to the first 200,000 vehicles a manufacturer sells. Tesla and General Motors already surpassed this number, so no credit is available from these manufacturers. A list of electric vehicles that still qualify for the federal tax credit can be found here.

It’s also possible that your state offers its own tax credit or rebate. The EV advocacy group Plug In America has an interactive map that shows electric car incentives in each state. New York, for example, offers a rebate worth up to $2,000.

Electric Cars: Are They Really Cheaper To Drive

When electric cars become more popular, the question of how much electricity they use becomes more pressing. The electricity used by electric and gasoline vehicles is less than that used by other types of vehicles. An electric car, such as the Nissan LEAF, can travel 130 miles on just 25-40 kWh of electricity and achieve a 130MPGe rating. Furthermore, charging an electric vehicle frequently costs less than charging one for a gasoline vehicle. For example, charging an electric car with a 40-kWh battery, such as the Nissan LEAF, would cost around $7 to fully charge.

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Electric Vehicles Vs Gas Cars: What’s Cheaper To Own

Upfront costs may be higher for EVs, but these cars are also much cheaper to operate and maintain and the savings can add up.

Over the life of your car, you will often spend less by buying electric. Fuel is the biggest and most obvious category for savings when you go electric. Owners who drive 15,000 miles in their electric car in a year spend roughly $546 on power, versus $1,255 in a gas-powered car, AAA found. Electric car owners spent around $0.03 per mile to get their car moving, which is $0.04 less than small sedan owners and $0.05 less than people with small SUVs.

Your personal savings would vary based partly on how much gas and electricity cost where you live. According to a U.S. Department of Energy study, the savings for going electric in Washington state are particularly significant. Over the course of 15 years of car ownership, the electricity needed to run a battery-powered EV could cost upwards of $14,480 less than what you’d pay for gas in a similar vehicle.

EV owners also save on maintenance costs because they dont have to worry about oil changes or new air filters. That amounts to savings of about $330 each year.

Again, the costs can vary widely based on individual circumstances. To run the numbers yourself based on the make and model you’re interested in, check out an online tool like the calculator at Edmunds.com, which will estimate how much youll really spend on insurance, fuel, repairs, loan interest, depreciation and such.

Finding The Right Plug To Charge An Ev

Voelcker explains the difference sounds more complex than it is. The vast majority of fast-charging locations have both kinds, with a different cable on each side of the station. Its like the same gas pump could dispense both regular gasoline and diesel fuel from different hoses.

As for the price, a 240-volt recharge could cost you anywhere from zero dollars to a fixed hourly rate. Charging networks often provide membership programs to minimize your recharge cost. Thats especially useful if you cant regularly charge your vehicle at home.

The EVgo network charges rates by state, and costs vary for Level 2 charging. On its website, the pay-as-you-go approach costs 30 cents per minute in Georgia for its rates as of this writing. However, if youre an EVgo Plus member, the rate drops to 24 cents per minute. Other popular charging apps include ChargePoint, Electrify America, and PlugShare.

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Drive In Recuperation Mode

Make the best use of the recuperation technology your electric car has. This is certainly one of the best things the electric vehicles come with. Recuperation or regenerative braking means whenever you are applying the brake, a certain amount of energy is generated to stop the wheels, which you are sending back to the vehicle’s battery pack. This happens whenever you apply brakes, be it for slowing down in dense traffic or when you are heading downhill. With this, the charge level of the battery pack remains a little longer and saves you some extra time before you plug in for recharging.

Calculating How Much It Costs To Charge Your Electric Car

Electric vehicles have different ranges, meaning some go further than others on a single charge. The cost per kWh can also vary wildly from one region to the next. However, those are not the only variables to consider when determining the cost of charging an electric vehicle.

Another crucial factor is where the EV owner charges their vehicle and with what equipment. Those who charge their cars at home will pay different rates than those who use a commercial charger. The type of charger also plays a role in cost, which means some people who charge their cars using commercial options will pay different prices than others.

Charging Your Electric Car at Home

Calculating how much it costs to charge an electric vehicle at home is relatively simple. Here are the steps:

For example, if the EV driver pays $0.14 per kWh, their car gets an average of three miles per kWh, and it has a total range of 360 miles, the formula would look like this:

Cost to Charge = x $0.14

The math in the formula shows that this particular electric vehicle costs $16.80 to charge at home.

Charging Your Electric Car With a Commercial Charger

Cost to Charge = x $0.21

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The Cost Of Electricity

One significant variable associated with charging an electric car is the cost of the electricity itself, which can be far more expensive in some regions than in others. As such, EV owners should know the cost of electricity in their area.

To calculate the cost, EV owners should grab their most recent electricity bill and look for the cost per kilowatt hour, or kWh. This cost can range from $0.09 to $0.35, but the national average is shy of $0.14.

The Faster The Charging The Higher The Rate

Unlike a typical 240-volt Level 2 home charger system, you will find Level 3 chargers in commercial settings because theyre prohibitively expensive for a private individual to get installed at home.

Tesla uses its own dedicated Supercharger network with more than 35,000 across the globe. But the rates can vary widely depending on region, timing, the Tesla model youre charging, and the tier you choose for your recharge speeds. Tesla offers four charging tiers. One important caveat: Tesla Superchargers only work for Tesla vehicles. That is until the network opens up to other EVs in the United States. The non-Tesla Supercharger pilot began in November 2021 in Europe.

Voelcker stresses that home charging is the best option for anyone considering an electric car. Yet, equally important is knowing where to find EV perks close to home.

Some workplaces offer charging for employees cars But electric-car owners quickly learn which public stations near them are free, which charge for charging, and how much they cost, he said.

For example, a bustling parking lot in a crowded city center might lure EV owners with the promise of free electric car charging. But the resultant fee for parking there could easily zoom past what youd have paid to fill up even the thirstiest gas-powered car or truck. Still, drivers will find the network of chargers growing with plenty of free options, including at malls, hotels, grocery stores, and more.

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Pricey But Getting Cheaper

Like most costs associated with electric vehicles, the cost of battery replacement started high. It remains expensive today, but we should see a decrease in that cost over the next few years. If that happens, it would mean a reduction in one of the most significant costs of EV ownership.

To learn more about what it costs to own an electric car, check out our explainer on how far an EV charge will get you.

Average Price Of Used Electric Cars

There are also a number of instances where a lightly used version is priced well above its new version. Examples include the Ford F-150 Lighting, with a new version costing an average of $83,134 and a lightly used version costing an average of $108,075, and the GMC Hummer EV with a new version costing $126,239 and a used version costing $195,698. A new Chevy Bolt costs an average of $31,214 and a used version costs an average of $31,571. People are likely willing to pay a premium on a lightly used version they can get right away versus ordering a new model that would require a long wait.

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Heres How Much You Can Expect To Pay For An Electric Vehicle

Electric cars have exploded in popularity as gas prices remain elevated and many new EVs from a growing list of automakers continue to enter the automotive marketplace. With more electric cars available than ever before, shoppers can now choose a new or used EV across a wide range of price points.

Looking at the upfront cost of electric cars vs. gasoline cars shows EVs cost on average $11,000 more than their gasoline counterparts. However, there are federal and state EV tax credits that can defray these higher upfront costs for electric vehicles. Along with incentives, EVs also have lower maintenance costs because they dont require oil changes, spark plug replacement, catalytic converters, or any equipment related to emissions. The regenerative braking system on battery-powered cars also extends the life of the braking system, and the cooling system for EVs is much simpler for regulating the cars battery pack temperatures versus an internal combustion engine.

With such a wide range of electric vehicles now on sale, lets look at the upfront costs of all available new and used EVs to help buyers find the electric car that suits their budget.

Premium Electric Car Sales Can Skew The Average

One thing to remember about averages is that prices can be skewed pretty easily especially when you consider some of the pricier electric cars out there. The Tesla Model S Plaid will cost you at least $135,990. The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 is $105,595 and the Lucid Air can cost as much as $179,000.

The cheapest electric car in the U.S. is the 2023 Chevy Bolt, which costs $26,595, and there are less than half a dozen other cars available for under $35,000. Neither of those figures are small amounts of money, especially when something like a Chevy Spark starts at $13,600, but thats what passes for cheap in the new electric car market.

However, a cursory glance at the electric cars that are on sale right now will tell you that the number of premium electric cars far outweigh the budget options. Those are the cars that come with nice features, like long range, autonomous driver assistance and all the other things electric cars are known to offer.

Meanwhile, the cheap options are much more spartan by comparison particularly in the range department. The $27,400 Nissan Leaf model offers 149 miles of range, while the $29,900 electric Mini SE offers just 114. The Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV may offer a respective 259 miles and 247 miles of range, but they are exceptions rather than the rule.

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