In the luxury segment, EVs such as the Porsche Taycan or the Tesla Model X charged mostly at home are the most economical to fuel
East Lansing, Mich.—Anderson Economic Group has released fueling cost estimates for comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) for the third quarter of 2025. These estimates indicate the real-world costs that American households face when choosing between similar gasoline powered and battery electric vehicles.
AEG has prepared quarterly cost comparisons since 2021, following a methodology that counts the same categories of fueling costs for both types of vehicles, including energy, excise taxes, and the pump or charger.
AEG calculates costs for entry-level, mid-priced, and luxury cars (including crossovers), as well as pickup trucks, assuming 12,000 miles driven per year for each. For electric vehicles, cost calculations consider drivers who mostly charge at home and those who mostly charge at commercial charging stations.
Because state taxes, cost of electricity, and gasoline costs vary among states, AEG included calculations for the benchmark state of Michigan as well as New York and California.
Summary Results for Q3 2025
AEG’s calculations for the third quarter of 2025 show that:
- Those who drive vehicles in the most popular segments (mid-priced cars, crossovers, and pickup trucks) saved between around $6 and $10 per 100 purposeful miles driving a traditional gasoline-powered ICE vehicle compared to a battery-electric vehicle (BEV). For example, the typical driver of an entry-priced ICE vehicle pays about $9.10 in fueling costs to drive 100 miles in Michigan, versus $13.40 for an EV driver who charges mostly at home, and $16.16 for one who relies primarily on commercial chargers.
- In all three states (Michigan, New York and California), the cost savings luxury ICE drivers see compared to luxury EV drivers using mostly commercial charging are lower than for other segments.
- In all three states, drivers of luxury vehicles (which tend to have more weight and more powerful engines) typically save money driving an EV if they charge primarily at home. As many luxury vehicle drivers also own their homes, they are more readily able to install a home charger. This often makes a luxury EV relatively affordable to operate.
- In addition to the cost advantage for those driving luxury vehicles, California’s higher prices for both electricity and gas diminish the cost savings mid-priced ICE drivers face compared to EV drivers who charge mostly at home.
- In all three states, pickup truck drivers face significantly higher costs if they rely on an EV, primarily because they are more likely to use costly commercial charging for these relatively demanding vehicles.
- Drivers in New York face relative costs similar to those in AEG’s benchmark state of Michigan. As in Michigan, entry- and mid-priced ICE cars and crossovers typically cost less than electric vehicles to fuel.
Detailed Findings: Michigan
AEG has used Michigan as the benchmark state to calculate fueling costs since 2021. Michigan’s state taxes, electricity and gasoline costs are all well within the range of other states, the state is the home to automakers and suppliers, and it has big cities like Detroit as well as rural areas.
Entry-priced cars and crossovers, Michigan: In the entry-priced segment, gas-powered cars such as the VW Jetta and Hyundai Elantra remained more economical to fuel at around $9.10 per 100 purposeful miles. That’s noticeably lower than entry priced EVs like the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt charged mostly at home ($13.40). Charging mostly at commercial stations was even more costly for EV drivers, averaging $16.16 per 100 purposeful miles.
Mid-priced cars and crossovers, Michigan: Mid-priced ICE vehicles that include the Chevy Malibu and Nissan Altima were also more cost-effective at approximately $10.31 per 100 miles. That’s lower than EVs in this segment (e.g., Tesla Models 3 and Y, Kia EV6) that used primarily home charging ($13.47) or mostly commercial charging ($16.29).
Luxury-priced cars and crossovers, Michigan: In the luxury segment, electric vehicles such as the Porsche Taycan or the Tesla Model X charged mostly at home continue to be the most economical to fuel. These drivers paid around $14.43 per 100 miles, as opposed to $17.20 to fuel a comparable ICE car like the BMW 5 series or the Cadillac CTS. Luxury EV drivers charging mostly commercially paid $17.98 per 100 miles, making their costs slightly higher than those of a comparable ICE vehicle.
Pickup trucks, Michigan: At around $16.36 per 100 miles, ICE-powered trucks such as the Ford F Series or GMC Sierra were slightly less expensive to fuel than their mostly home-charged electric counterparts in Michigan at $18.98. Drivers of electric pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning who needed to charge commercially most of the time found themselves paying about $26.39—exceeding their ICE counterparts by nearly $10.
Detailed Findings: California and New York
Here are the comparable results from California and New York using energy prices and state taxes in those states:
Entry-priced cars and crossovers: In the entry-priced segment, gas-powered cars were cheaper to fuel than their EV counterparts in both New York and California. For New York drivers, gasoline offered a cost advantage between $4.67 and $7.61 depending on the driver’s home or commercial charging habits. In California, the difference ranged from $3.76 to $6.77.
Mid-priced cars and crossovers: Mid-priced ICE vehicles were also more cost-effective to fuel in New York at $10.58 per 100 miles. That’s lower than EVs in this segment at $14.10 for mostly home charging or $17.10 for mostly commercial charging. Even in California, ICE powered cars were slightly cheaper to fuel at $14.82 as compared to an EV charged mostly at home for $16.96 or charged mostly commercially at $20.03.
Luxury-priced cars and crossovers: In the luxury segment, electric vehicles charged mostly at home are less expensive to fuel in both states. New York drivers paid around $15.28 per 100 miles, as opposed to the $17.12 needed to fuel an ICE counterpart. California’s Luxury EV drivers experienced even more of a discount, paying $18.33 for mostly home charging versus the $20.70 it would have cost them to fuel a Luxury ICE vehicle. Those charging mostly commercially in California paid $3.81 more than those charging mostly at home – just $1.44 more than the ICE fueling cost.
Pickup trucks: Pickup truck drivers in New York paid more to drive an EV mostly charged at home ($20.90) compared to what they would have for an ICE vehicle ($16.79) per 100 miles. In California, ICE-powered trucks were nearly $1.36 less expensive to fuel at $23.53 than their mostly home-charged electric counterparts at $24.89. California’s electric pickup drivers charging commercially most of the time paid about $32.45, exceeding ICE pickup fueling costs by $8.92.
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