This is one of the most hilariously, cluelessly privileged things I have read on this website. New cars are more expensive than ever. And the used car market is even more ridiculous. Furthermore hybrid and electric cars are especially expensive, and the infrastructure for electric vehicles is an extra challenge especially if you don't own your own home with its own parking spot. Soaring gas prices are already bad enough, but buying a brand new vehicle is even more expensive. The median vehicle on the road is 11 years old. All the fancy new sensors and doodads that the government is now requiring on all new vehicles have shot prices through the roof.
Base model Chevy Bolt (260 mile range): $32,000
This doesn't even get into the
true cost of ownership: over the years, an EV owner will save thousands in combined fuel and maintenance costs compared to a combustion vehicle. It's already perfectly feasible and cost-effective to go electric if you're not looking for a higher end vehicle. For the Bolt specifically, taking into account all the major factors for the first five years of ownership (average maintenance costs, fuel costs, insurance costs, etc), buying the base model is roughly equivalent to buying a $24-25k combustion vehicle. Most people are idiots, however, and only consider the monthly sticker price rather than what they'll actually shell out over the lifetime of a car or the rare occasion they might drive 200+ miles in a single day.
None of this really matters, though: over the past year alone, the percentage of new vehicle sales that are EV went from 2% to over 6%. In a few years time, that share will likely be well north of 20%. Major manufacturers are already preparing for the 2030-2035 phase out of combustion engines. The simple fact is that oil is by far used for transportation, and even in just a few years, the amount of oil the US will need per capita is going to begin substantially dropping. What we use to power the replacement energy is a bigger concern.
