The data found about 68 per cent of car shoppers in 2022 who did not own an EV showed an intent to purchase one, but that dropped to 56 per cent this year.

    • anonymouse@lemmings.world
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      11 months ago

      Initial cost and lack of charging infrastructure are the two biggest drawbacks for me. The lease on my current car ends in a year, and I’m looking for a viable EV. But most EVs that are bigger than a breadbox and have a 250+ mi. range start around $7-10k beyond my budget.

      • rbesfe@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        You should go back and look at how much you’ve put into maintaining that leased car, and make sure to factor in cost of gas versus electricity. Could be $7-$10k over 5 years. Also be real, how often are you driving more than 250 miles in a single trip?

        • anonymouse@lemmings.world
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          11 months ago

          Maintenance has been negligible - $250 a year for oil changes & a couple hundred for replacing damaged tires. I might check into my state’s tax credits to see if that would make up the difference in cost.

          The range problem is that I can’t charge at home. I could probably go as low as 140 miles if I’m willing to visit a charging station every weekend. But, the one to three times a year when I do drive somewhere for vacation or to visit family, I’d either have to plan very carefully or rent a car.

          • rbesfe@lemmy.ca
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            11 months ago

            Ah yeah, no home charging is basically a deal breaker for EVs because that’s eliminating one of the largest benefits (always having a full tank). Unless your workplace has charging I think you’re better off with a used ICE.

            Also that little maintenance sounds to me like you might be breaking the terms of your lease agreement, they usually stipulate that you have to follow the recommended schedule.

    • AnotherDirtyAnglo@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      Even ‘low’ gas prices can’t compete. If I charge on a street charger from 0%, it costs about $16 for 550km of range. It’s free at the office. I bought mine when free unlimited fast charging was offered. I’ve put nearly 60k kms on the vehicle, and I’ve paid less than $200 for ‘fuel’ over the last 4 years.

      • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        They can’t compete in the long term.

        In the short term I don’t have 20k sitting around to save 6k a year in fuel.

        • AnotherDirtyAnglo@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          That’s why there needs to be aggressive rebates and incentives. It’s the only way the market gets built. The dumbest part of this whole thing is how easy it would be to get it right.

          • Increase gas taxes quarterly, just a fraction of a percent.
          • Gas taxes go towards rebate programs, and to incentiveize manufacturers to manufacture locally.
          • Carbon taxes to go public transit - increasing the quantity and quality of service while reducing the end user costs to drive demand.
          • The more people who use new and improved public transit rather than buying cars to commute, the closer we get to climeate goals.
          • The more people who convert to EVs, the closer the country gets to climate goals.
          • Repeat this process so that every year, it gets more and more expensive to operate a vehicle that kills the planet, and it gets cheaper and cheaper to get where you need to be with green tech.