Editor’s note: This commentary is by Alex Binzen, of Strafford, who is an environmental studies student at the University of Vermont and a member of an environmental group called the Sunrise Movement in Burlington.
On Dec. 16 the Vermont Agency of Transportation launched statewide electric vehicle incentives. Families of four making less than $92,432 a year are eligible to save $1,500 on hybrids and $2,500 on fully electric vehicles. If your household income is below $63,000, incentives are doubled. This isn’t a tax credit; this is savings at the dealership or a check in the mail.
As a 21-year-old UVM student with no hope of buying a car, these incentives serve only to ease my climate anxiety. However, my parents will soon be in the market, and they qualify for the maximum $5,000 EV savings. Edmunds Car Affordability Calculator says that our $60,000 income (just about average in Vermont) should spend no more than $21,000 on a car, so that’s the family budget. After investigating the options, I’m happy to report that these incentives finally make electric cars affordable.
Shopping begins by narrowing the list of applicable vehicles. Cars over $40,000 don’t qualify. My folks aren’t interested in hybrids, only EVs. The cold winters can cut an electric vehicle’s range in half, so anything below 200 miles per charge is simply not viable in this frozen rural state. The range restrictions leave the Chevy Bolt, Hyundai Kona, Kia Niro, Nissan Leaf Plus, and the Tesla Model 3. These cars hover around 250 miles per charge and cost between $35,000 and $40,000.
While all five qualify for Vermont incentives, there are federal tax credits to consider. The federal tax credits start at $7,500 but start to decrease after 220,000 cars are sold by a manufacturer. Because the Tesla and Chevy are so popular, they receive only $1,875 in tax credits. The other three manufacturers still qualify for the maximum $7,500. I’m opting for the Kona because it’s cheaper than the Niro, has a longer range than the Leaf, and is generally well regarded. The combined federal and state incentives bring the Kona all the way down to $24,450.
This might not fit the $21,000 budget, but savings on gas more than make up the difference. Vermonter’s drove 7.4 billion miles in 2017, an average of 13,200 miles per driver. With current gas prices, a 25 mpg vehicle costs $1,500 in gas annually. Charging an EV from the grid costs less than half as much as gas. For my folks with their DIY solar panels, the cost per mile would be $0.
If my parents took out a four-year loan on an EV, in that time they would save $6,000 at the pump. This effectively brings the price of the Kona (and the Leaf Plus) down into the $18,000 range. Considering also that EV maintenance is on average one-third the cost, the car should prove much cheaper over time than the combustion engine competition. Of course you have to install a car charger, but that’s a one-time $1,200 that should last for decades. Thanks to the incentives, my parents can afford an EV.
Even without incentives electric vehicles are on their way towards being affordable. Battery prices have dropped 70% in only six years. Bloomberg reports that as soon as 2020, EVs will be price competitive with combustion engines. Here in Vermont, we don’t have to wait. Thanks to progressive legislation in our little state, electric vehicles are already affordable.
