For the first time in more than a year, owners of traditional gas-powered cars saved more money at the pump than those driving their electric counterparts, according to a consulting firm.
The fuel cost for most Internal Combustion Engine ICE vehicles was comparatively cheaper in the final quarter of 2022 than charging an electric vehicle EV analyst with the Anderson Economic Group AEG said.
The cost to drive 100 miles in a gas-powered car dropped by more than $2 in October, November and December 2022. The firm said that with electricity prices rising last year, mid-priced ICE cars became more economical than EV cars for the first time in 18 months.
AEG looked at the costs of gas, diesel, and electricity, along with road taxes and fees, added costs to operate a pump or EV charger and the cost to drive to a fueling station. The costs were calculated for vehicles driving 12,000 miles per year.
A typical mid-priced gas car driver paid around $11.29 for 100 miles of driving in Q 4th, 2022, according to the analysis. That was more than 31 cents cheaper than what a mid-priced electric car driver paid to charge their vehicle at home, and more than $3 less than what EV drivers pay when they charge their vehicles at a fuel station.
Unless you were driving an expensive luxury electric vehicle, you were losing money charging your car versus paying for gas, experts said.
AEG's Patrick Anderson said that the run-up in gas prices made EVs look like a bargain during much of 2021 and 2022. With electric prices going up and gas prices declining, drivers of traditional ICE vehicles saved a bit of money in the last quarter of 2022.