Why electric?
Electric vehicles are appealing for a number of reasons. Here are a few of the benefits to going electric.
Affordability
Electric vehicles are getting more affordable to purchase thanks to federal tax incentives and more used vehicle options on the market. A number of states also offer financial incentives, including tax credits, for lowering the up-front costs to purchase an electric vehicle. The Department of Energy keeps an up to date database for state and federal tax credits and other incentives.
Maintenance and fuel savings
It’s cheaper to charge the battery than fill up the gas tank because electricity prices are lower than gas prices. To compare the annual operating cost of your current vehicle to an electric model you might be considering, check out the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Cost Calculator. It uses basic information about your driving habits to calculate total cost of ownership for makes and models of most vehicles.
In addition, maintenance costs for electric vehicles are usually lower thanks to no oil changes and fewer tune-ups needed.
Convenience
Skip the line at the gas station. Instead, charge your vehicle at home while you sleep, or get a quick charge at a public charging station while you work or run errands. Here’s a great alternative fueling station locator.
Help the environment
Electric vehicles can help keep our communities clean.
You can measure a vehicle’s emissions in two ways: its direct emission and the emission created throughout the vehicle’s entire life cycle.
Direct emissions are the emissions that come from a vehicle’s tailpipe. No surprise that electric vehicles far outperform conventional vehicles when it comes to direct emissions. All-electric vehicles produce zero direct emissions, and hybrid models produce fewer tailpipe emissions than vehicles relying solely on gasoline.
When you consider a vehicle’s entire life cycle including things like production and emissions created getting the fuel it runs on, electric vehicles still outperform their conventional counterparts because most emissions are lower for electricity generation than for burning gasoline or diesel.
