A new study highlighted the disparity between the ownership costs of premium electric vehicles and their gas counterparts, versus the ownership costs of mass-market EVs and equivalent gas cars. The data is part of JD Power’s E-Vision Intelligence Report, and it highlights one of the major challenges facing the EV industry: Price parity with gas cars.
The average five-year cost of ownership of a premium EV is $287 more than comparable ICE vehicles. Mass market EVs, on the other hand, cost $9,529 or 18 percent more than their ICE counterparts over five years of ownership. The average premium EV buyer is paying just 0.4 percent more than what they would for owning a gas car.
Relative affordability is at the heart of this non-linear trend. Automakers transitioning to EVs tend to launch expensive, halo products first, which are succeeded by more affordable models. In fact, 76 percent of EV sales are occurring in the luxury market, the report added.has an average five-year ownership cost of $72,107. A comparable ICE vehicle would cost just 71,420, which is only $687 less.
“We are at a turning point where EVs will be the mainstream choice for the next generation of customers and Equinox EV will lead this charge for us,” said GM CEO Mary Barra when the Equinox prices were announced. “With the flexibility of GM’s Ultium platform, we are bringing to market vehicles at nearly every price point and for every purpose,” she added.but failed to deliver on them.
The JD Power report adds that the electric compact SUV segment is a priority for manufacturers, and planned affordable models could bring price parity to more segments in the future.2024 Tesla Model 3 Walkaround Video Shows What's New Inside And Out