(The Center Square) – The complete costs of “fueling” an electric vehicle for 10 years are $17.33 per equivalent gallon of gasoline, a new analysis from the Texas Public Policy Foundation says.
The study authors say the $1.21 cost-per-gallon equivalent of charging a car cited by EV advocates excludes the real costs born by taxpayers for subsidies, utility ratepayers for energy investments, and non-electric vehicle owners for mandate-and-environmental-credit-driven higher vehicle costs, which they say total $48,698 per EV. Those costs must be included when comparing fueling costs of EVs and traditional gas-powered vehicles, TPPF maintains.
“The market would be driving towards hybrids if not for this market manipulation from the federal government. We’d be reducing emissions and improving fuel economy at the same time on a much greater scale,” study author Jason Isaac told The Center Square in an interview. He then cited Toyota estimates that the batteries from one EV can power 90 hybrids and reduce emissions 37 times more than that one EV.
The study adds up the costs of direct subsidies to buyers of the car and chargers; indirect subsidies in the form of avoided fuel taxes and fees, as well as electric grid generation, transmission, distribution, and overhead costs for utilities; and regulatory mandates that include fuel economy standards, EPA greenhouse gas credits, and zero-emission mandates.
The study also assumes EVs will be driven for 10 years and 120,000 miles, which the authors claim is a generous estimate. According to J.D. Power, EVs lose 2.3% of their range each year due to battery degradation, in part driving EVs to lose value faster than internal combustion cars.
With Ford losing an estimated $70,000 per EV and subsidies reaching $50,000 per EV, Isaac says the real cost of a vehicle such as a Ford Lightning is over $150,000, and those costs are carried by everyone, including non-EV owners and even Americans without cars.
“The real cost of a Ford Lightning is closer to $172,00 and no one would buy them at that. I know their sales have tanked. The [electric] Silverado sold 18 electric trucks last quarter,” Isaac said. “Buying a car is more expensive today and people don’t understand why that is. I’m trying to help them understand if they buy a gas or diesel car they’re paying for an electric vehicle for a wealthy EV owner.”
To reach the $17.73 per gallon equivalent figure, the authors created categories for costs borne by EV owners, taxpayers, utility ratepayers, and buyers of electric vehicles. For reference, the cost per gallon equivalent is computed by dividing the number of miles over a car’s ten year lifetime by the average new vehicle’s fuel efficiency of 36 miles per gallon equivalent, and using that number to divide the total cost presented.
EV owners only pay $1.21 for the cost of residential electricity and $1.38 for charging and metering costs per equivalent gallon, which makes charging still cheaper than gasoline in terms of costs paid by EV owners. However, taxpayers pay $2.72 per gallon in federal and state EV buyer tax credits and rebates ($8,984 over a vehicle lifetime), a cost of $0.40 per gallon ($1,318 over a vehicle lifetime) in avoided charging infrastructure costs split between taxpayers and utility ratepayers. Utility ratepayers then pay $3.18 per gallon ($10,515 over a vehicle lifetime) in increased costs to enable the grid to charge electric vehicles at mass scale through increased power generation, transmission and distribution. Lastly, buyers of non-electric vehicles face increased vehicle costs equating to $1.48 per gallon equivalent ($4,881 over a vehicle lifetime) due to requirements in many states that manufacturers sell a certain number of often money-losing EVs to continue selling other cars, $1.01 per gallon equivalent ($3,322 over a vehicle lifetime) due to EPA GHG emissions standards, while Corporate Average Fuel Economy Credits add a whopping $5.96 per gallon equivalent ($19,678 over a vehicle lifetime).
CAFE standards are the single largest externalized cost of EVs, a cost that researchers attribute to the fact that automakers whose fleets do not meet the necessary average fuel economy must purchase credits from automakers with excess credits, with these credit markets worth billions of dollars per year and contributing $1.78 billion to Tesla’s bottom line in 2022. The average fuel economy of an average EV with a 300 mile range in 2021 was estimated to be 113 miles per gallon equivalent, making automakers strongly incentivized to build these often money-losing cars to meet CAFE goals. To increase the adoption of cars that don’t use diesel or gasoline, the federal government created a 667% multiplier in MPGe for vehicles that use alternative power. With a fleetwide CAFE standard of 37 MPG for 2021 and a 2021 EV rated at 113 MPGE, an EV is worth 507 MPG worth of credits, or more than what Ford loses directly on its EVs.
Just another Lie, Con and Deception by the treasonous, destructive, unethical, immoral, woke, socialist Democrat Party.
Electric Vehicles will save the Planet, save money, save the environment, save the economy, create millions of high paying jobs.
Electric Vehicles will not save the Planet, not save money, not save the environment, not save the economy, not create millions of high paying jobs.
The operable question of course is that just who will get the extra money difference of about $14/gallon more in citizen spending over ten years to put into their pockets? Who will again get richer in the fleecing of hard-working honest Americans? You can bet your shorts that the Democrat party, their government wealth controlling freaks, Fauci type self-enriching party apparatchiks, and the Biden Crime family, will get most of the lion’s share of another fake environMENTAL party manufactured crisis scheme that transfers Trillions in American wealth from the working producers to the conspiring political party of collectivist consumers, from the honest to the dishonest, from the patriots to the treasonous American hating “Make America Last” ,, economic energy depriving current democrat party of disguised evil intentions. He who controls the sources of American energy, controls the power, who can shut if off at will as a means to control your individual freedoms. How much of your freedom to relax did Biden steal since coming into office by shutting off oil production, raising of gas prices, making you have to work more hours for less spendable pay, just to try to stay even or not go further into debt? Everything Joe promises, gets delivered as just the opposite. Soon the very junkyard ground that produced American amber waves of grain will be soaked in disgarded battery acid.
Pretty much, IF leftist say “THIS will do ZYXBAC” you can bet, that it will do the Exact opposite.
First of all, there’s all the toxic materials that go into making them.
There’s the very real concern about the disposal of of spent battery packs, that are made of the now spent toxic materials. Plus the whole recharging debacle.They still take too long to recharge them to use them for any long trips.
And here in California, thanks to Gov Moonbeam’s best efforts in his first eight year term, we haven’t built a new reservoir since the 70’s (hello? hydro-electric generators anyone?), and I can’t remember when the last new power plant of any kind was built. How’s our fragil, overtaxed grid suppose to handle the multitude of state mandated EV’s demands on that power grid?
Also, they don’t have the mileage to be a real primary vehicle, they’re mainly useful as a really expensive town car.
And I still haven’t seen any stats on the difference in mileage between day and night driving, or if you have to use air conditioning.
In the final analysis, EVs are nothing but really expensive toys made of toxic elements that are dangerous to mine and create, and to dispose of after.
And notice how the pollution concerns brought up earlier this year concerning the heavy weight of EVs causing excessive particles from the tires whenever they’re driven? That report claimed the pollution factor was as bad, in some cases worse than internal combustion engines when driven.
Some solution to the so-called “Green” problems.
Add to that, battery life is SEVERLY Diminished in cold weather… SO what about all those states, who continually get blizzards?
democrat,Socoalist,/ Communist, President, Joe Boden might say, Damned the costs to own and drive a Electric BAttery Powered Car,’ we’re for GREEN ENERGY.!
It’s all part of the man caused climate change scam. I am hoping that Ford’s losses will discourage any other Major manufacturer from jumping into this hoax with both feet.
Toyota has come out praising the rapidly shrinking numbers of EV sales as a sign that people who were sold on the idea of a “green” EVs are beginning to understand the lies that the vehicles represent. They are anticipating an all around return to internal combustion vehicles until technology can truly produce, and the market can support without a bunch of government interference and ridiculous subsidies, a real breakthrough where the costs to the environment is not so tragically high, and the costs to the taxpayers are all together unnecessary.
I actually do believe it will happen someday, we humans can be very clever. But it will never happen properly as long as government interference rushes it before its time on the backs of all taxpayers who are not even using the cursed things.
Its almost as if the government preferred We The People to not move about freely.
Almost, as in, on the nose.
And it is but one of the many freedoms we still have that primarily the Dem?Lib Progressives want to take away from us.
Unless of course, you’re one of the libtard groups Running around like rabid dogs, raising holy hell….
since so many things are labeled “racist” because “people of color” don’t have the finances to participate, ought not E-Cars be labeled RACIST, too?
That would require too much common sense.
It’s just another power grab by the Leftist DemonRat Commies. Remember “If you like your insurance plan, you can keep your insurance plan. If you like your Dr. you can keep your Dr.”
Everything they do is to foist upon us bigger government, more regulations, heavier taxes etc.
We are smart enough to choose what we want to purchase! Don’t believe the LIES of the DemonRats!