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After reading the recent guest column in the BDN entitled “Falling electric car prices don’t help low-income Americans,” I did a little research about electric cars. Here’s what I found out.
The average cost of a new car as of November 2022: $48,681.
The base price of a new Nissan Leaf (EV): around $28,000.
The base price of a new Hyundai Kona Electric: $33,550.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, EVs cost 6.1 cents per mile to maintain, compared with 10.1 cents per mile for combustion engine vehicles. You have no oil to change, no exhaust system to replace, no fuel pump to replace, no head gasket to blow and no fuel injectors to clog.
What you do have is a quiet, fast and emissions-free vehicle. I bought my used Nissan Leaf in 2017 for $12,300. It had 19,000 miles on it when I bought it. I won’t go back to an internal combustion vehicle. Looks to me like it’s the gas and diesel cars that are too expensive for low income car shoppers. Oh, did I mention electric cars can get a tax credit up to $7,500?
David Dietrich
Blue Hill
