Paying near record-high prices for gas may be hitting your wallet hard, but according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, that will just make an electric vehicle all the more worth it.
During a House hearing on Tuesday, Buttigieg said, “The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles.”
Watch the video below:
Pete Buttigieg: “The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles”pic.twitter.com/Ls52NHYfuO
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 19, 2022
According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gas is $4.49, down from $4.98 a month ago.
However, it is up from $3.17 a year ago.
Buttigieg’s argument is just not one that will resonate with the average American, as administration officials talk about the need to “accelerate” a transition to green energy.
According to Kelly Blue Book, the average price of an electric vehicle (EV) is roughly $60,000. As CNBC notes, that is “roughly $10,000 higher than the overall industry average of $46,329 that includes gas and EVs.
“In terms of pricing, an EV is equivalent to an entry-level luxury car,” it added.
On top of paying for the car, EV owners can spend around $2,000 to install “Level 2” chargers that can charge their vehicle in less than eight hours.
Otherwise, “Level 1” charges can take up to 40 hours to charge the vehicle.
And while Buttigieg and the administration like to tout what they say are the savings of owning an EV, a report from the Department of Energy found that when you factor in fuel, maintenance, repairs, financing, and federal tax breaks, a small electric SUV would cost an owner $0.4508 per mile, meanwhile, a gas-powered vehicle around the same size would cost an owner $0.4727 per mile.
That equates to saving about $0.0219 per mile with an EV.
If you multiply the cost per mile by the average life span of a car — 200,000 miles — an EV would cost the owner $90,160 over its life while a gas-powered vehicle would cost $94,540.
That equates to roughly $4,000 in savings over the years.
Perhaps that would be worth it to some Americans, though that’s not exactly some massive saving.
But others will probably look at the trade-offs — save around $4,000 over years but own a car that takes a long time to charge, can’t tow boats or trailers very far, and you have limited charging infrastructure — and decide that it’s not worth it to make the leap to electric.