Electric vehicles took center stage during the Super Bowl with several car companies advertising new EV models during the game on Sunday.
But, are electric vehicles cheaper than traditional gasoline vehicles in the long run?
The average annual cost to run and purchase an electric vehicle in the United States is about $10,360 each year, according to Self.inc, a financial company that focuses on helping its customers with financial decisions.
For gas vehicles, the average cost factoring in purchase price and cost to run the vehicle is $8,691, Self.inc said.
In Ohio, it costs $3,281 to run an electric car annually, whereas gas cars cost $3,833 each year. Each year Ohioans would save $552 per year on operating costs by buying an EV option over a gas option
A study showed that it would take 25 years for a Tesla Model 3 to be a cheaper ownership option compared to the Toyota RAV 4.
Other factors to consider are the significant time costs to finding reliable public chargers — and even then a charger could take 30 minutes to go from 20 percent to an 80 percent charge, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Fully recharging the battery pack can take three to 12 hours, the department says.
There are 89 public electric vehicle charging stations within 30 miles of the city of Dayton that people could use if they are out driving, according to U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.
The cost at those public vehicle charging stations can vary though, with Blink Charging saying the Ohio rate can range from 30 to 60 cents per kilowatt hour. Blink Charging is a company that owns and operates charging stations across the country.
For context, EV batteries in 2021 ranged from 28.9 kWh to about 200 kWh, which depending on battery size could get from 110 miles to 350 miles per charge, according to Car and Driver. That would mean Ohioans could pay anywhere from $8.67 for the smallest battery at the cheapest Ohio rate for charging to $60 for the largest available battery at the same rate.
EV cars also can get you a sizeable tax credit on your income taxes too. All-electric and plug-in hybrid cars purchased new could be eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500. The tax credits do phase out for each make and model of vehicle as more of the vehicles are sold.
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