Gas prices are high, but so is the cost of owning an electric vehicle. | PxHere.com
Gas prices are high, but so is the cost of owning an electric vehicle. | PxHere.com
With inflation running rampant, even those taking the recommendation of President Joe Biden and shifting toward electric vehicles (EV) are paying a hefty price.
"In May, buyers paid an average of 22% more for a new EV than they did the year before, as the average sale amount climbed to $54,000," according to AutoBlog.
In addition, with inflation impacting the cost of virtually everything, the overwhelming majority of American families are in no position to take on the added cost of owning an EV, making high Wisconsin gas prices look a lot less painful comparatively.
According to CNBC, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, raw material costs for electric vehicles have more than doubled, forcing automakers like General Motors, Tesla, Lucid and Rivian to significantly raise their prices on new EVs. Over the last year, Tesla has increased the prices of its vehicles multiple times with some of the company’s EVs now registering nearly 10% more than they did at the start of 2022.
Reliant on an essential battery material list that includes cobalt, nickel and lithium, average EV raw material costs totaled $8,255 per vehicle as of May, an average cost increase of 144% since March 2020, according to CNBC.
In addition, AlixPartners says that EV-specific costs have increased to $4,500 from roughly $2,000 in the past two years.
At the same time, AutoBlog points out that gas prices also continue to hover near record levels, with buyers on average paying in the neighborhood of $44,400 for a gas-powered vehicle over the same time frame, a 14% overall increase. Triggering much of the surging costs are raw material cost increases, research and development costs, rapid demand growth and rising inflation.
The administration’s push toward electric vehicles dates back to August 2021, when Biden publicly set the goal of producing at least 50% of all vehicles emission-free by 2030 as part of his push for green energy, according to a press release from The White House.
In Wisconsin, AAA reports that the average cost for gasoline has spiked to $4.52 per gallon as of July 18. More recently, prices have slightly fallen, largely triggered by a decrease in the overall price of oil.
According to World Population Review, the median household income in Wisconsin is $61,747-- making the affordability of an average EV unrealistic for many families.
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