Quote:
Originally Posted by heavytbfagain
I've been contemplating making the jump to EV for a while. There's a lot good info in here about ongoing cost (particularly for fuel) savings for EV vs. ICE. However I'm not seeing much about the massive up-front cost differential in these vehicles. You're all talking about making the switch like it's a guarantee to be financially prudent. Doing a quick comparison of various models of SUVs in the Canadian market (the style I'd like) and even with the government incentives I'm seeing at least a 20% up front premium. Aren't you all just paying for the lifetime fuel savings up front on these?
I can appreciate the environmental impact of EV vs. ICE, but if that's the only advantage we have a long way to go yet. I'm certainly open to your perspective as I'd love to do away with the gas pump permanently.
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I don't own an EV yet, but the answer is both yes and no. I'd love an EV and it will likely be my next vehicle, but I'm not fronting ridiculous up front costs or unnecessarily upgrading my vehicle early to get into an EV. Also, with my regular usage, I'm more likely to do PHEV > BEV.
Assuming a $10-15K up front cost vs a 5% interest rate and let's say a $2500-3000 in fuel savings a year (conservative), the break even on fuel alone is about 3-5 years.
However, just like smart thermostats, I told people that you're not purely paying for the energy savings. You're buying the convenience of changing the temperature from your bed (don't have to get out of warm bed to adjust) and an ease of use UI.
That should be the same consideration for EVs. $10-15K upfront cost of an EV basically comes with a performance boost of any ICE vehicle within the same price range, so you're buying performance whether or not you want to utilize it. You're buying the convenience of topping up at home if you cannot fully charge at home. The fuel savings is just gravy and should be considered the straw that breaks the camel's back in being an early adopter of EV. That being said, the savings are so good right now that it's basically a hay bale, not a single straw.
I've always thought it kinda backwards and odd to consider the fuel savings as the primary reason to adopt EV. I really didn't like that some people get angry when others consider it not a good enough reason to immediately jump on EVs. It should always be all the other attributes first and fuel savings last IMO and another thing to consider is how you use a vehicle also affects your regular savings.