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Payne: EV or gas car? The cost of refueling in Michigan
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 5, 2023
Charlevoix — Electric vehicles are flooding the market this summer just as Michigan gas prices have hit a $3.86 high for 2023. While customers see EV costs and charging infrastructure as barriers to purchase, a recent study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 74% of Americans say saving money on gas is a major reason they’d consider purchasing a battery-powered vehicle.
But are EVs cheaper to fuel than their gasoline-fired counterparts? The Detroit News went on the road to find out.
Much of the answer depends on how you use your vehicle, so The News compared refueling costs both for road trips as well as daily commutes. EV early adopters tend to come from higher income households with multiple vehicles and a garage. Electrics are typically used for daily commutes and are refueled overnight from the utility-run, AC electric grid, while companion gas-powered cars are used for road trips. Single-vehicle households, on the other hand, use their EVs as multi-purpose mules — charging on higher-cost, DC fast-charging stations near the nation’s highways as well as plugging in locally on AC outlets.
I drove four different cars to north Michigan and back — a 500-mile round trip — in addition to extended driving around Metro Detroit to compare costs: an electric-powered, $57,410, 2022 Kia EV6 and $60,000, 2019 Tesla Model 3; and gas-powered, 2017, $28,000 Subaru Impreza and 2024, $44,160 Dodge Hornet. All are similarly-sized, all-wheel-drive models.
The Tesla was the cheapest at $50 for the 500-mile round-trip thanks to a 30 cents per kWh charging cost at its proprietary Superchargers in Meijer parking lots along I-75. Tesla rates can be highly variable from 25-43 cents-per-kWh depending on location.
The Kia EV, on the other hand, was—along with the Hornet—the most expensive of the four cars to refuel since it relies on third-party, fast chargers that range from 40-48 cents per kWh hour to recharge (Rivian vehicles, like Tesla, have exclusive access to a Rivian network along the route). I used Electrify America fast chargers, the nation’s largest fast charger network outside of Tesla, that services all-comers with a CCS charging port. EA’s charging network has followed Tesla’s into similar shopping centers and this year upped its cost from 43 cents/kWh to 48 cents.
The Kia cost $80 to charge on the round trip which would be similar to EVs from other brands like the Cadillac Lyriq, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning pickup and BMW iX.
The gas-powered Impreza and Hornet cost $67 and $80, respectively, filling up on $3.99 regular gas. The Impreza slurped 30 mpg and the Hornet 25 mpg.
It should be noted the EV vs. gas journeys were very different. Due to their inferior range and refueling ability, the EVs take more trip planning.
“We have built a world around driving gas vehicles. Driving an EV is a lifestyle change,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. “You have to plug it overnight when you get to your destination, then unplug it when you leave. You have to plan road trips around chargers so that you get a bite to eat while you charge for 20 minutes.”
Whereas I only refilled the gas pair once on the 500-mile round trip, I had to stop and fuel the EVs three times each. The Subaru has a range of 462 miles — nearly enough to make the entire round trip before a short, five-minute refueling stop. Depending on speed, I found the Subie’s range could vary by about 12% (30 mpg instead of 34 mpg).
The Tesla EV, by contrast, had much greater range variability — losing up to 30% of range, for example, if I traveled at 80 mph on I-75 instead of 70. That means its 300-mile range may not be enough to get to the destination. What’s more, EVs — unlike gas cars — fill up much more slowly (think a mug of beer) once you reach over 80% of capacity. And when I got to Charlevoix, my charging options were limited. So I stopped twice on the way north for a total of 45 minutes — and then again on the way back.
“The physics of a battery is that it’s not going to give you 300 miles in five minutes,” said Fiorani. “Society is going to have to sacrifice in order to make (the EV) transition. This is not a full step forward like other consumer product advances — people are going to notice the negatives.”
The best way to travel is to make sure your destination (hotel, friend’s home) has a 240-volt charger so you can charge at your destination. Just like home.
It’s local commuting where the EV really shines.
The cost of fueling the Subaru (30 mpg) and Hornet (24 mpg) were nearly the same whether commuting or traveling. The EVs, on the other hand, got much more efficient when home charging on a 240-volt outlet (same voltage as a dryer).
If I home-charged the Tesla at DTE Energy’s overnight, 15 cents-per-kWh off-peak rate, a 50-mile round trip to The Detroit News downtown office would cost just $2.50, or a total of $12.50 a week. The Impreza, on the other hand, would cost $6.66 a day for a total of $33 a week.
As with long-distance travel, there is a wrinkle. A typical charger-plus-installation at a home runs about $2,000. So an EV would take about two years to get the charger cost back in fuel savings. And the $10,000 premium of an all-wheel-drive Model 3 would take about 10 years to make back over a similarly-equipped Impreza Sport.
The refueling advantage of an EV lies in the assumption that owners have access to a garage at work or home.
“While there is plenty of interest in purchasing an electric vehicle, the high upfront cost of owning one and concerns about the country’s charging infrastructure are barriers to more people driving them,” said Jennifer Benz, deputy director of the AP-NORC Center. “Policies that alleviate these concerns will be a key component of building support for an EV future.”
Accordingly, automakers target higher-income demographics for EV sales. There are more EV options in the market, with 30% of new vehicle offerings this year being electric. According to data from Cox Automotive, the average EV transaction price was $53,469 in July compared to $48,334 for gas chariots. Apple to apples, EVs are much pricier than their segment counterparts. A 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, for example, starts at $56,715 — about $20,000 north of its gas-fired stablemate. Automakers say such premiums are mostly due to battery cost.
Governments from Washington, D.C., to California are targeting the elimination of gas-engine sales by 2035. To help EV adoption, many states are offering tax discounts in addition to the federal tax credit of $7,500 which the Tesla qualifies for since it is Made in the USA (the Korean-made Kia does not). Leading the way is Colorado with a $5,000 EV state credit that is due to expand to $19,000 later this year. Michigan does not have a state tax credit for EVs.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne