The Price Gap Between EVs And ICE Cars Is Shrinking Fast

[eddiet1212]

The Price Gap Between EVs And ICE Cars Is Shrinking Fast

The average price of an EV has fallen by 25% since 2018.
In the U.S., the price difference between a combustion car and an EV was 50% in 2021 decreasing to 15% in 2023.

Kelley Blue Book said the average price of a new EV in the U.S. in July 2024 was $56,520 compared to $48,401—that’s a 16.8% difference. Jato found that the difference had fallen from 53% in 2018 to 15% in 2024. In this time span, the price of electric vehicles went down by 11% while ICE prices rose by 14% on average.

https://insideevs.com/news/748568/price-gap-evs-ice-shrinking/

In the United States, just 5% of people said they’re looking for an EV as their next vehicle, while 6% said the powertrain preference is a PHEV. By comparison, 62% of respondents said their preference is an ICE model while 20% may choose a regular hybrid. The results were similar in other markets. Across South East Asia, 53% would prefer an ICE, followed by 17% considering a hybrid, 13% pondering a PHEV, and 11% thinking about an EV.

Just 5% Of Americans Surveyed Want An EV As Their Next Car, But Is That Really True? | Carscoops

The results may look surprising, but even from big firms, things aren't always as they seem

www.carscoops.com

 

[Dana]

Gap is even smaller when you include five years of maintenance cost. No oil changes, anti freeze, etc.

 

[J Alynn]

Gap is even smaller when you include five years of maintenance cost. No oil changes, anti freeze, etc.

Factor in the cost of home charging savings and it gets even better

 

[Dana]

Factor in the cost of home charging savings and it gets even better

Right? I usually whip out the per mile energy cost when folks doubt…my home electricity in my garage is 4.1 cents/kw. I actually see about 3 miles /kWh. So, being generous, about a $0.02/mile. If you have a car getting 30mpg and gas is $3/gallon that works out to $0.10/mile. It adds up!

 

[Chuckles]

Electric vehicle battery prices are expected to fall almost 50% by 2026

www.goldmansachs.com

 

[Cranky Canuck]

Even if you look at MSRPs, if you compare a lot of like-for-like vehicles EVs are either the same or in some cases cheaper than their gas or hybrid counterparts. Automakers try to obscure this by adding only certain packages or trims to EVs so you can get identically spec'd vehicles a lot of the time but if you compare similar spec to similar spec even across brands you'll find the EV very competitive.

This YouTuber does a great comparison for the F150 and F150 Lightning. Turns out the Lightning as actually cheaper than the hybrid!

 

[TXAN777]

Gap is even smaller when you include five years of maintenance cost. No oil changes, anti freeze, etc.

Maintenance is part of owning anything, including EV vehicles... with an ICE vehicle you're paying it as you go assuming you want it to work properly and safe... with an EV you still have maintenence albeit lesser up front, it's not going to last forever and once the batteries die it's a very significant expense to replace them if you want to keep using it. Look up the price to replace a battery module for any EV and compare the overall lifespan costs to maintain both. Something to consider that many overlook.

 

[J Alynn]

Maintenance is part of owning anything, including EV vehicles... with an ICE vehicle you're paying it as you go assuming you want it to work properly and safe... with an EV you still have maintenence albeit lesser up front, it's not going to last forever and once the batteries die it's a very significant expense to replace them if you want to keep using it. Look up the price to replace a battery module for any EV and compare the overall lifespan costs to maintain both. Something to consider that many overlook.

Agree but batteries are showing solid signs of 15 year lifespan and possibly more. While I realize a lot of folks hold on to cars, but the average American only keeps a car 8-1/2 to 12-1/2 years so the majority of first time owners will never incur the cost of battery replacement.
BUT-if SM and other manufacturers CAN eventually do battery swaps it will slowly bring down that service cost and may in the long term raise the resale values to a sense. If current EV’s are losing 60% of value quickly and SM plans a buy back program they could in theory swap the battery packs-even if a basic 200 mile range pack (even solid state 8-10 years from now) and now the car has way more value as a resale.
Now a $70K new Scout whose value at 7 year trade is $24K gets a $16K battery and at $40K with a new battery warranty might appeal to a younger generation of buyers looking for solid used vehicles.

 

[Cranky Canuck]

Maintenance is part of owning anything, including EV vehicles... with an ICE vehicle you're paying it as you go assuming you want it to work properly and safe... with an EV you still have maintenence albeit lesser up front, it's not going to last forever and once the batteries die it's a very significant expense to replace them if you want to keep using it. Look up the price to replace a battery module for any EV and compare the overall lifespan costs to maintain both. Something to consider that many overlook.

The battery replacement thing is a myth. There is no evidence that owners will ever need to replace the traction battery during the life of the vehicle at their own expense. In fact all the evidence is pointing to the batteries outlasting the actual vehicles themselves. EVs still have tires and suspensions and things like that that do wear over time but having owned EVs for nearly a decade now I can confirm maintenance costs are incomparably cheaper for an EV than a combustion car. That makes sense, EVs have very few moving parts and are mechanically much simpler machines. There's simply less stuff to break or go wrong. The total maintenance I did on my 5 years of ownership of a 12 year old EV was $8 to top up the brake fluid and about $100 to change out the 12V battery. That's it if you don't count consumables like tires and wiper fluid. Most reliable beater car I every owned! That car is now on to its third owner and last i heard it was still going strong and they were loving it.

 

[absentEE]

Right? I usually whip out the per mile energy cost when folks doubt…my home electricity in my garage is 4.1 cents/kw. I actually see about 3 miles /kWh. So, being generous, about a $0.02/mile. If you have a car getting 30mpg and gas is $3/gallon that works out to $0.10/mile. It adds up!

Have them plug your cost per kWh into fueleconomy.gov and compare the annual fuel cost of a Prius vs an EV in a entirely different class… usually gets the point across pretty quickly.

@$0.04/kWh: