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Mid-priced ICE cars less expensive to fuel than electric vehicles

California’s high energy prices mean mid-priced EVs make more sense there than in Michigan or New York; luxury EVs have cost advantage

East Lansing, Mich.—Anderson Economic Group has released fueling cost estimates for comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) for the first and second quarters of 2024. These estimates indicate the real-world costs that American households face when choosing between a gasoline powered vehicle and a battery electric vehicle.

AEG calculates costs for entry-level, mid-priced, and luxury cars (including crossovers), as well as pickup trucks, all assumed to drive 12,000 miles per year. For electric vehicles, AEG calculates costs for drivers that mostly charge at home and those that mostly charge at commercial charging stations. As state taxes, costs of electricity and gasoline all vary among states, AEG includes calculations for the benchmark state of Michigan as well as New York and California.

Summary results in the first half of 2024

The AEG calculations for the first half of 2024 show that:

  • Drivers of vehicles in the most popular segments, mid-priced cars and crossovers, and pickup trucks, typically save money driving a traditional gasoline-powered ICE vehicle compared to a battery-electric vehicle (BEV),
  • BEV drivers who rely primarily on commercial charging pay substantially more than their counterparts in any other category.
  • Drivers of luxury vehicles, which tend to have more weight and more powerful engines, typically save money driving an EV compared to an ICE vehicle, if they can charge primarily at home. As many drivers of luxury vehicles also own their own homes, a luxury EV for them can often be relatively affordable compared to a luxury ICE car.
  • Higher energy prices in California, which include both electricity and gasoline, make the EV cost differential disappear for mid-priced drivers who can mostly charge at home. As with Michigan and New York, luxury EV drivers charging at home have a cost advantage.
  • In all three states, drivers of pickup trucks face significantly higher costs if they rely on an EV. That is primarily because of the cost of commercial charging for these relatively “thirsty” vehicles.
  • Drivers in New York face relative costs that are similar to those in AEG’s benchmark state of Michigan. As in Michigan, entry- and mid-priced cars and crossovers typically cost less to operate if they were ICE vehicles than if they were electric vehicles. And, as Michigan and California, EVs were relatively less expensive for luxury car buyers who could rely on home charging.

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 like the VW Jetta and Hyundai Elantra remained more economical to fuel at around $10.25 per 100 purposeful miles. That’s up slightly from the end of 2023, but still significantly more affordable than entry priced EVs like the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt charged mostly at home ($12.92). These operating costs represented a dramatic savings over an EV charged mostly at commercial charging stations ($16.12).

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 $11.61 per 100 miles. That’s lower than EVs in this segment (e.g., Tesla Models 3 and Y, Kia EV6) that utilized primarily home charging ($12.99) or mostly commercial charging ($16.25).

Luxury-priced cars and crossovers, Michigan: In the luxury segment, electric vehicles like the Porsche Taycan or the Tesla Model X charged mostly at home continue to be the most economical to fuel. These drivers paid around $13.90 per 100 miles, as opposed to $18.56 to fuel a comparable ICE car like the BMW 5 series or the Cadillac CTS. Luxury EV drivers charging mostly commercially also experienced some savings over a comparable ICE vehicle at $17.95 per 100 miles.

Pickup trucks, Michigan: At around $18.42 per 100 miles, ICE-powered trucks like the Ford F Series or GMC Sierra were slightly more expensive to fuel than their mostly home-charged electric counterparts in Michigan at $18.26. Drivers of electric pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning who needed to charge commercially most of the time found themselves paying about $26.38 — exceeding their ICE counterparts by nearly $8.

Detailed Findings: California and New York

The following 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 $2.27 and $5.54, depending on the driver’s home or commercial charging habits. In California, the difference ranged from $1.90 to $2.72.

Mid-priced cars and crossovers: Mid-priced ICE vehicles were also more cost-effective to fuel in New York at $12.07 per 100 miles. That’s lower than EVs in this segment at $13.01 for mostly home charging or $16.34 for mostly commercial charging. Even in California, ICE powered cars were very slightly cheaper to fuel at $16.88 as compared to an EV charged mostly at home for $16.92 or charged mostly commercially at $17.78.

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 $14.07 per 100 miles, as opposed to the $18.83 needed to fuel an ICE counterpart. California’s Luxury EV drivers experienced even more of a discount, paying $18.30 for mostly home charging versus the $23.19 it would have cost them to fuel a Luxury ICE vehicle. Even those charging mostly commercially had an advantage in California, paying just $1.33 more than those charging mostly at home — still considerably less than the ICE fueling cost.

Pickup trucks: Pickup truck drivers in New York paid about the same to drive an EV mostly charged at home ($19.14) as they would have for an ICE vehicle ($19.16) per 100 miles. In California, ICE-powered trucks were nearly $2 more expensive to fuel at $26.80 than their mostly home-charged electric counterparts at $24.89. California’s electric pickup drivers charging commercially most of the time paid about $28.67, exceeding ICE pickup fueling costs by $1.87.

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