When it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle (EV), Americans are mainly concerned about charging station logistics and travel range limitations.
A reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has attested to both of these factors in a recent piece, where she writes about the major difficulties faced while taking a long road trip in an EV. To make a long story short, EVs are not suitable for long road trips, unless you plan to spend hours detouring.
After renting a brand-new Kia EV6, WSJ reporter Rachel Wolfe's "four-day, three-night EV road trip included many charging stops, little sleep—and less junk food than you might expect." In total, Wolfe and her friend drove 2,013 miles from New Orleans to Chicago and back. This distance required them to spend 18 hours and $175 in order to charge the EV a total of 14 times.
Today's electric vehicles can travel an average of 250 miles on a single charge, the University of California, Davis EV Research Center said. Depending on the size of the battery and type of charging station, EVs with larger batteries can require up to 20-plus hours using a 120V charger and four to eight hours with a 240V charger. Those equipped for fast charging can receive an 80% charge in approximately 20 minutes.
A Consumer Reports survey that collected 8,027 interviews showed more than 6 in 10 Americans said weak charging station logistics is preventing them from buying an electric vehicle, while more than half (55%) said the strongest deterrent is EVs' limited travel range on a single charge.
In the same survey, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans said they would not purchase an electric vehicle today. Of those indicating concern about costs, 58% of respondents said the high purchase price of an EV is holding them back from buying.
Wolfe calculated that during the four-day road trip, she and her friend spent $175 on charging the Kia EV6, the WSJ article said. The equivalent cost for gas in a Kia Forte would have been $275 based on AAA average national gas price data for the time of their trip. But "that $100 savings cost us many hours in waiting time," Wolfe said.
EVs are key to President Joe Biden's clean energy stand as he endeavors to bring their market share up to 50% of new car sales by 2030. To encourage drivers to take the plunge, Biden provides a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of new all-electric vehicles under the new Inflation Reduction Act signed into law this month. But Morningstar Senior Equity Analyst Seth Goldstein told CNBC that the tax credit has "price and income restrictions." For instance, new EV sedans are only eligible if sold for less than $55,000. Additionally, SUVs, trucks and vans must be sold below $80,000 or the buyer loses out on a tax credit.