Study: Fueling EVs Really Costs $17 Per Gallon

A new study out of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which has received contributions from oil giants Exxon and Chevron, finds that the actual hidden costs of fueling an electric vehicle, which some allege equates to $1.21 per gallon of gas, is more like $17 per gallon — all things considered.

In their paper "Overcharged Expectations: Unmasking the True Costs of Electric Vehicles," the study's authors, Brent Bennett and Jason Isaac, ostensibly argue that while the direct cost of "fueling up" to an EV owner may appear low, the real costs and considerations add up to be significantly more.

"EV advocates claim that the cost of electricity for EV owners is equal to $1.21 per gallon of gasoline (Edison Electric Institute, 2021)," the authors contend, "but the cost of charging equipment and charging losses, averaged out over 10 years and 120,000 miles, is $1.38 per gallon equivalent on top of that. Adding the costs of the subsidies to the true cost of fueling an EV would equate to an EV owner paying $17.33 per gallon of gasoline."

The paper goes on to assert that the U.S. government uses regulatory standards, mainly Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions standards, to indirectly finance the growth of EVs. These standards force automakers either to comply, often by selling more EVs, or to buy credits from those who do, adding hidden costs to traditional gas and diesel vehicles.

"When we pay for a gallon of gasoline," they continue, "we are paying for the entire infrastructure to refine, transport, and market that gasoline. When an EV owner connects to the electric grid, how much are they paying for the extra generation, transmission, and distribution costs that they are imposing on the grid, and will those embedded costs rise over time?"

Answering this, the authors conclude, "The stark reality for proponents of EVs and for the dreamers in the federal government, who are using fuel economy regulations to force manufacturers to produce ever more EVs, is that the true cost of an EV is in no way close to a comparable ICEV [internal combustion engine vehicle].

"Our conservative estimate is that the average EV accrues $48,698 in subsidies and $4,569 in extra charging and electricity costs over a 10-year period, for a total cost of $53,267, or $16.12 per equivalent gallon of gasoline. Without increased and sustained government favors, EVs will remain more expensive than ICEVs for many years to come."

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