Electric Vehicle Q and A
for Energize Ashland
Thank you for joining us at the Ashland Farmer’s Market Sustainability Day on Saturday July 27!
We appreciated all the interest in our survey, quiz discussion about restaurant take-out container options, and of course, electric vehicles. One of our takeaways from our conversations was that there is both a lot of interest in electric vehicles, but also a lot of questions about electric vehicles’ cost to own, cost to operate, range, and charging. While I can’t discuss all of these points in depth here, I hope the following is a good introduction for anybody who might be curious about electric vehicles and why drivers and the environment can benefit from replacing gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles.
1) How is an electric vehicle’s efficiency measured?
For electric vehicles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses two measures, MPGe (Miles Per Gallon equivalent) and watt-hours per 100 miles. To understand them, let’s first start with a more familiar metric.
Most people probably know that MPG is the abbreviation for Miles Per Gallon, the basic metric for automobile fuel efficiency for 50 years. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that in 2022 the average light duty vehicle’s fuel efficiency was 24.8 MPG, down slightly from the all-time high of 25.3 in 2020, but up from 21.9 MPG in 2000. As a reference point, a 2024 Toyota Prius (front-wheel drive model) is rated at 57 MPG; a 2024 Ford F-150 (6-cylinder turbo) is 20 MPG; and a 2024 Subaru Outback (4-cylinder) is 28 MPG.
Because electric vehicles use stored electricity instead of burning gasoline, they require a different metric. Instead, the EPA first takes an electric vehicle’s tested energy consumption per 100 miles. For instance, the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long-Range AWD is rated at 26 kilowatthours (kWh) per 100 miles. The EPA uses a conversion factor of 33.7 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy per gallon of gasoline. To calculate MPGe, divide 33.7 by 26 and multiply by 100. That’s 129.61538 which the EPA rounds up to 130 MPGe.
2) Wait, a 2024 Tesla Model 3 with nearly 400 HP and zero to 60 in 4 seconds is nearly 2.5 times more energy efficient than a 2024 Prius with 194 HP and zero to 60 in 7.1 seconds???
Yes. Exactly. The reason is simple: heat loss. According to the EPA, the average electric motor used in an electric vehicle converts about 77% of the electric energy from the battery into forward motion. Compare that to 12% to 30% of the energy in gasoline which ends up propelling a gas vehicle—you may be familiar with the tremendous amount of heat lost if you’ve touched a car’s hood after a long drive.
3) But we pay one of the highest electricity rates in the country!
True, Massachusetts is typically in the top 10. But, as suggested by the answer to question #2, the question of cost also depends on the total energy consumed. Resorting back to the Tesla getting 130 MPGe. The EPA’s fuel cost estimates (see for yourself at www.fueleconomy.gov) which I adjusted to reflect the current AAA average gas price ($3.43 for regular) and the total cost of electricity ($.3355) using the Ashland Community Aggregation supply and Eversource distribution costs, show $1,200 in annual fuel costs for the Tesla but $900 for the Prius. Gas for the win, right? Not so fast. A fairer comparison for the Tesla might be a 2024 BMW 330i sedan which gets 29 MPG and runs on premium fuel, total cost $2,250.
The point here isn’t that there’s a clear-cut answer on fueling costs, but rather that the reduced overall energy use by an electric vehicle means the details matter. I encourage you to adjust the default settings in the fueleconomy.gov comparison tool to reflect your specific options and costs. The answer might surprise you.
4) But electric vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-powered cars!
As in #3 above, it depends. Average transaction prices are higher for electric vehicles. But, unless you are shopping for an electric vehicle with 1,000 HP, you can find large discounts if you know just two tricks.
First, although the $7,500 federal tax credit applies directly to relatively few vehicles, the dealer can still pass that savings to you if you lease (Massachusetts also offers up to $3,500 in rebate through the MOR-EV program, so you could be looking at $11,000 in price reduction already). Lease deals change all the time so I refer to the recurring article at www.insideevs.com which lists some of the best deals, some as low as $300 per month.
Second, if you’d rather purchase your vehicle outright, and after you test drive a few models and are ready to start negotiating, I encourage you to check the website www.theevfinder.com which allows you to search for all listings for a particular make and model (including by trim, color, and drivetrain among other categories) up to 999 miles from your zip code. Interestingly, the website also lists the date when the dealer took stock of that vehicle. As of this writing, I see a lot of 2023 model year vehicles still on dealer lots which means there are some motivated sellers looking to move 2023s before 2025 model year vehicles start arriving.
If you found this piece informative, please check out the Energize Ashland website (https://community.massenergize.org/AshlandMA/) for more information. Also, if you missed speaking to us on July 27, please mark your calendar for the 10th annual Kidde-Fenwal Car Show on September 14. We will have a variety of electric vehicles on display, and you can talk to owners about their cars and their experiences owning their electric vehicles.
