Electric Vehicle Frequently Asked Questions and responses to common myths

Overview

Automotive executives think more than half of their sales will be electric vehicles by 2030, KPMG survey shows.

Why is this? There are many factors in play. Some of them are:

• They are just plain fun to drive!  Added safety features, advanced electronics and a low carbon footprint makes this choice a winner.
• The availability of new, lower priced models due to rapid decreases in battery costs is making EVs cost-competitive with fossil fuel vehicles.  
• EVs are a key strategy for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• A growing number of countries have set deadlines prohibiting the sale of fossil fuel vehicles starting as soon as 2025.  This is driving the global market towards EVs.

Aren’t EVs are too expensive?

You can spend more if you want, but there are a number of new EVs currently in the $25,000-43,000 price range:  

• 10. 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5—$42,785
• 9. Hyundai Ioniq 6—$42,715
• 8. 2023 Kia Niro EV—$40,875
• 7. 2023 Volkswagen ID.4—$40,290
• 6. 2023 Mazda MX-30—$35,385
• 5. 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric—$34,885
• 4. 2023 Mini Cooper SE Hardtop—$30,895
• 3. 2023 Nissan Leaf—$29,135
• 2. 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV—$28,795
• 1. 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV—$27,495

Power costs much less than gas to charge or “fuel up” your vehicle. EVs have little maintenance other than tire replacement. Car and Driver did a comprehensive analysis – check out their article EV vs Gas: Which Cars are Cheaper to Own?

Look at Car and Driver’s article The Cheapest Electric Cars for 2023. Car and Driver also shows a new EV car price comparison here.

And don’t forget to look at used EVs.  For example, used BMW i3, FIAT 500e and Kia Niro EV are commonly listed from $12,000-34,000.  You can find older used Nissan Leafs for $8,000 and up. Check out Road and Track’s article Best Used Electric Cars for 2023.

See EV Shopping Tips and Compare and Shop for EVs on this website.

What about electric pickup trucks?

Car and Driver’s article Best Electric Pickup Trucks for 2023 states that there are three battery-electric pickup truck offerings available for the 2023 model year, and more are set to arrive in the coming years.  Car and Driver ranks these trucks as follows:

3. GMC Hummer EV, 7500-lb towing capacity,Car and Driver rating: 8/10;  Base price: $110,295
2. Ford F-150 Lightning, 10,000-lb towing capacity,Car and Driver rating: 9/10;  Base price: $57,869
1. Rivian R1T, 11,000-lb towing capacity, Car and Driver rating: 10/10;  Base price: $74,800

Other electric pickup trucks on the near horizon include:

Chevrolet Silverado EV
GMC Sierra EV
Tesla Cybertruck
Lordstown Endurance
Toyota Tacoma EV
Canoo Pickup Truck

Will I be able to find an EV with enough range?

Range is the number of miles that can be traveled on a single charge.  There are a few older models that note an EPA estimated range of less than 200 miles (322 km). Most EVs have between 200 to 400 miles of range.  Battery technology has been developing rapidly, driving prices down and range up. There are more and more EVs with greater than 300 miles of range, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, all Tesla cars (the Model S is even above 400 miles) and the all-new Rivian R1T/R1S electric pickup truck.  A listing of new EVs showing EPA range and list price, as of June 2023, is here.

Don’t EVs take too long to charge?

Recharging electric vehicles requires rethinking the difference between charging with electricity instead of gassing up.

With fossil fuel you fill up your tank when it gets low. Some days you may have a full tank. Other days it maybe low. Most people with electric vehicles will charge their car at home meaning that virtually every day they will leave with a “full tank” (80% of full charge, to optimize battery life). The only times they need to plan charging is when they are driving beyond the range of their batteries – on vacation or a long commute. At this point they will consult an app ( Plug Share app, Chargeway app, Electrify America, Blink, EVgo, Chargepoint, or Tesla) and plan to charge with a Level 2 or Level 3 charger, which are common now along US freeways, highways and other locations. Level 3 chargers are DC fast chargers or superchargers. These can typically charge to 180-320 miles of range in an hour.

Tesla has capability to charge up to 200 miles of range in 15 minutes at some supercharger stations. Tesla is slowly opening their supercharger network to other EVs. At least 7500 Tesla chargers will become available for non-Tesla EVs by the end of 2024.

In the meantime, other EV companies are working with Electrify America, EVgo and others to install DC fast chargers that are as fast as Tesla. So by the time your “break” is over your EV will be ready to go.

The Myth:  Since so much electricity is generated by coal, isn’t pollution worse with EVs? Isn’t the climate better off if I just keep driving my old car?

Actually, no. Less than 20% of electricity in the US is generated by coal, as of February 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration. EVs are a cleaner alternative right now in every part of the US, particularly in Jefferson County since our PUD provides 95% carbon-free electricity. This is not just happening in Washington but throughout the US as the cost of renewable energy has become cheaper than fossil fuel causing utilities to move away from coal and eventually from natural gas. The Union of Concerned Scientists provides a good update as of July 2022.

The Myth:  Won’t gas/diesel-powered vehicles win in a lifecycle comparison of greenhouse gas emissions?

Nope, electric vehicles have significantly lower lifecycle emissions. EPA’s Electric Vehicle Myth #2 shows a chart comparing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for an EV compared to a gas car. And since Jefferson County has 95% carbon-free electricity, EVs have even lower lifecycle carbon than shown on EPA’s chart.

The Myth:  Won’t all of these batteries just end up in a landfill?

Electric car batteries can be repurposed for other applications such as solar energy storage and data center backup. After that, as Volkswagen and Tesla are now doing, they can then be recycled for the materials such as lithium and cobalt which can be extracted and reused.

The Union of Concerned Scientists prepared the fact sheet Electric Vehicle Batteries, Addressing Questions and Concerns about Critical Materials and Recycling, which you can find here.

The Myth:  Is there enough lithium? Mining for materials to make batteries is bad for the environment.

Mark Jacobson, Stanford University professor and author of No Miracles Needed: How Today’s Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air, says wind and solar require about 1 percent of the mining fossil fuel energy needs in terms of materials mass. Check out the David Suzuki Foundation article Digging into the Mining Impacts of Renewable Energy.

Ok, it’s not as bad for the environment as fossil fuel extraction and production. But is there enough lithium? The New York Times recently summarized the current state of car manufacturer’s pursuit of lithium and other rare earth minerals.

Also, recycling batteries reduces the need for extracting, refining and transporting new minerals.  Recycled materials from used batteries could meet a portion of new EV battery demand in future.

The Myth:  Won’t EVs put a strain on utilities to produce enough electricity?

Scientific American takes a crack at answering this question in the article Why Electric Vehicles Won’t Break the Grid. This article uses the example of California—the national leader in electric cars with more than 1 million plug-in vehicles—where EV charging currently accounts for less than 1 percent of the grid’s total load during peak hours. In 2030, when the number of EVs in California is expected to surpass 5 million, charging is projected to account for less than 5 percent of that load, said Lindsay Buckley (from the California Energy Commission), who described it as a “small amount” of added demand.

The Myth:  Won’t EVs overload the electric grid, cause failures and rolling blackouts?

Take a look at the online article Exploding the ‘Electric Cars Will Destroy the Grid’ Myth (September 2022).  In late summer 2022, CAISO, which operates California’s electrical grid, warned that a punishing heat wave had pushed demand for electricity to record levels and rolling blackouts could follow if demand was not reduced. However, it turned out that EVs were not straining the grid. California had roughly 680,000 registered EVs as of July 1, per S&P Global Mobility, accounting for less than 1% of the state’s total electricity demand. Even if there are 5 million EVs by 2030, they will account for about 7% of annual electricity usage and 1% of peak demand, according to the California Air Resources Board.

One of the issues with California’s recent energy emergency was with solar battery storage. “The way batteries are operated on the grid, we are still on a steep learning curve,” said Severin Borenstein, an energy professor at the University of California at Berkeley and member of the board of governors of CAISO. “We are still learning about the right way to integrate them.”

The Take Aways section of this cleantechnica.com article explains that there are more anti-EV FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) myths in circulation now than in previous years –  “Are you wondering why?  Because the fossil fuel industry is terrified by the changes electric cars will bring.“  And the FF industry spends millions each year to create doubt and uncertainty in the public mind.

The Myth:  Why not wait until these cars get cheaper and better?

They are already cheaper and better.  The biggest cost of building an electric vehicle is the batteries. Electric vehicle battery costs have declined 89% over the past decade, according to BloombergNEF.  

For those who are concerned about cost, take a look at used EVs, many are on the market now.  A used 2016 Nissan Leaf was recently listed in the Seattle area for $11,800. The 30% IRS tax credit would reduce the sticker price by $3,540, taking the cost minus tax credit to $8,260. You’ll also save on sales tax, since Washington state has no sales tax on EVs.

Currently, if you buy a qualified used EV or fuel cell vehicle from a licensed dealer for $25,000 or less, you may be eligible for a used clean vehicle tax credit (also referred to as a previously owned clean vehicle credit). The credit equals 30% of the sale price up to a maximum credit of $4,000. And most EVs available in Washington qualify now for significant financial incentives.

As for getting better, electric vehicles are more than just fossil fuel-free vehicles. They are like a computer-on-wheels that can be improved and upgraded with software (and some with firmware) downloads.  So unlike internal combustion cars, EVs have the ability to get better over time. These over-the-air updates can also address issues without taking the vehicle in for service. Various EV manufacturers have different capabilities regarding over-the-air updates, as described here.

What about safety issues, like engine fires?

Despite the recent concern about electric vehicle fires, EVs have the fewest fires compared to hybrid and gas vehicles, according to a recent report by AutoinsuranceEZ.

Safety is a big plus for EVs. With batteries in the undercarriage there is a low center of gravity and without an engine in the front there is less chance of being impaled from a front end collision. Data from the National Highway Safety Administration confirms this. The  Volkswagen ID.4, Chevy models, and several Tesla models received NHTSA’s highest Five Star safety rating.

One of the most significant additional benefits of moving toward electric vehicles is the health benefit of eliminating air pollution generated by the burning of fossil fuel by vehicles. A study by MIT calculated that increased air pollution from vehicles that burn fossil fuel contributes to 58,000 premature deaths annually in the U.S. This compares to 37,000 deaths caused by automobile accidents.

July 2023