costs
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A recent study from the University of California, Davis suggested that awareness of available plug-in electric cars among potential buyers was no higher in 2017 than it had been in 2014. Worse, only California car owners were surveyed—and that's the state in which roughly half of all the battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the U.S. have been sold. The report should be a wakeup call for electric-car fans, advocates, and drivers. DON'T MISS: What if car buyers aren't ready for electric cars, even in California? It highlights the uncomfortable truth that there remain huge...
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When do electric-car tax credits expire? (updated for 2018)
In less than three months, personal income-tax returns or 2017 will be due for most U.S. adults. Some of those taxpayers will have bought a plug-in electric car last year, knowing that the Federal government offers an income-tax credit to help reduce the effective cost. But as more and more...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars are cheapest to drive against gas cars in these states: new report
Electric cars still cost significantly more to buy than gasoline-powered vehicles of the same size and capabilities. But cars that plug in are almost always cheaper to run per mile, often by a significant multiple. A study released Thursday has quantified those differences, comparing the...
John Voelcker -
If electric semi tractors are real, their running-cost advantage could be huge
Emotions play a big role in purchases of passenger vehicles, but fleet decisions are generally driven by numbers, spreadsheets, and the almighty dollar. And it's in the equation of overall cost where early adopters of electric and other alternative-fuel semis could make a financial killing. Haulers...
Mark Stevenson -
Hyundai believes electric-car battery prices will stop falling by 2020
The automotive business is one that turns raw materials into highly complex finished goods. When the prices of key commodities—especially raw materials—rise, everything downstream in that process becomes more expensive. That's Hyundai's concern over battery prices from 2020 onward, as...
Mark Stevenson -
Lithium-ion battery packs now $209 per kwh, will fall to $100 by 2025: Bloomberg analysis
Battery-pack prices are the lowest they've ever been, and like a yoga-obsessed limbo contestant, they're primed to go even lower. A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, based on a survey of "more than 50 companies," states the average cost of a electric-car battery pack is now $209 per...
Mark Stevenson -
With the prospect of multiple long-range electric cars hitting the market over the next few years, the prediction market is in full swing. Battery costs have fallen faster than predicted eight years ago, and virtually every carmaker plans to introduce at least one battery-electric vehicle with 200 miles of range or more. The Chevrolet Bolt EV, rated at 238 miles, is the first of those; the Tesla Model 3 is expected to follow before the end of this year, in unknown volumes. DON'T MISS: Chevy Bolt EV costs $28,700 to build, Tesla Model 3 a bit higher: analysis Last week, we got our first...
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Chevy Bolt EV costs $28,700 to build, Tesla Model 3 a bit higher: analysis
The costs and prices of electric cars are endlessly debated, not only among owners and advocates but within the industry itself. The cost per kilowatt-hour of electric-car batteries is closely held, with a few notable exceptions. One of those was the statement by GM product chief Mark Reuss that...
John Voelcker -
Is Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell fervor foolish, or foresighted? (with charts)
Toyota's staunch, unswerving support for hydrogen fuel cells has astonished and aggravated many in the electric vehicle community. For some of them, the technology is at best an inferior solution—and at worst is fossil fuel-friendly vaporware, a Judas in Jesus's clothing, if you will. With...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Automakers say fuel-economy rules hurt buyers; Consumers Union rebuts the claim
Automaker lobbyists continue to push back against the stricter fuel-economy and emissions standards scheduled to take effect in the U.S. over the next decade. Many of their arguments center on costs—not only to the carmakers themselves, but also to car buyers. Regulators and automakers...
Stephen Edelstein -
When will electric cars cost no more than equivalent diesels? VW says 2025
The cost of electric cars and diesels will equalize around 2025, says one Volkswagen Group of America executive.
Stephen Edelstein -
Canada's first Nissan Leaf electric car driver: still committed after five years
Canada's first Nissan Leaf is still going strong after five years.
Stephen Edelstein -
"Sure, but what do the batteries cost to replace?" is a question frequently posed to hybrid and electric vehicle owners. It's true that batteries aren't cheap, and at some point down the line they'll have expended their useful life and require replacement. But what do these packs actually cost, if and when that replacement date comes? We've previously looked at the cost of replacing battery packs in the first-generation 2001-2003 Toyota Prius, but with several other hybrids on the market from Toyota alone, we wanted to investigate further. [NOTE: This article was first published in August...
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Electric-car battery costs: Tesla $190 per kwh for pack, GM $145 for cells
Lithium-ion cells and the battery packs that hold them are the single most costly part of modern electric cars. And how fast their costs will fall remains the defining factor in making those cars affordable for the mass market. GM made waves last fall when product chief Mark Reuss said the company...
John Voelcker -
How much does electric-car range cost per mile?
When it comes to electric cars, range is a commodity. But how much are buyers paying to increase the amount of driving they can do between charges? We looked at every electric car currently on sale, as well as the upcoming 200-mile 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and Tesla Model 3, and some of the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Highest Gas Mileage For The Least Money: We Rate 10 Top Cars
Here's how to get the cheapest gas mileage.
Stephen Edelstein -
GM Willing To Sell Chevy Volt's Plug-In Hybrid Powertrain To Other Makers
The biggest challenge in introducing new technologies is getting to the volume production that permits economies of scale for expensive components. Toyota is now nearing 9 million hybrids produced, over almost 20 years--but it builds 10 million cars a year. General Motors, on the other hand, has...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid Car Repairs Getting Cheaper, But Not For Regular Cars
Hybrid repair costs have dropped over the past five years, a survey of costs finds.
Stephen Edelstein -
Five years into the era of modern electric cars, the biggest cost remains the battery pack. Now there's data to confirm that not only are the costs of the battery cells falling, but that they are falling at rates pretty much in line with historical declines. A study published last month not only suggested that battery costs have already fallen below those predicted for 2020, but actually estimated the rate of decline. DON'T MISS: Electric-Car Battery Costs Already Cheaper Than 2020 Predictions: Study According to the new study, published in the Climate Change section of Nature, costs fell 14...
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Electric-Car Battery Costs Already Cheaper Than 2020 Predictions: Study
A new study shows a rapid drop in lithium-ion cell prices in recent years.
Stephen Edelstein -
How To Drive A Tesla Model S Electric Car Free For 18 Months
An owner claims to have essentially driven a Tesla Model S for free for 18 months.
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota Mirai Should Cost The Same As Diesel Sedan Of Same Size, Toyota Says
A Toyota executive says the company is already looking to cut the fuel-cell Mirai's price.
Stephen Edelstein -
Driving Small Electric Cars: What It's Like In The Real World
Reader Jen Danzinger explains what it's really like to drive a very small battery-electric car year-round in the Midwest. In the years following my participation in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize, I have watched with keen interest as major car companies introduced electric vehicles into their...
John Voelcker -
BMW i3 Electric Car Teardown: Profitable At 20,000 Units, Says Engineer (Video)
Engineers disassemble a BMW i3 electric car.
Stephen Edelstein