Duke Energy Says EVs Are Totally Competitive With Regular Cars Now Or Something

This article from WRAL reads more like a sponsored article written by Duke Energy, with zero questions asked

Cost of electric vehicles now competitive with gas-powered cars, according to Duke Energy

The price of a owning an electric vehicle is now closer to that of gas powered cars, and experts say the savings not seen on the sticker price could make them even more appealing.

Scot Wingo is the CEO of Raleigh-Durham based “Spiffy,” a vehicle maintenance company which now operates in 20 markets across the country. He hopes his large fleet of service vans will soon run just like his own battery-powered Tesla.

“Our vision is to move towards electric vans totally in the next two or three years. They are just not available today,” said Wingo. (snip)

Though the vans still run on gas, the equipment inside Spiffy vehicles run on electric power. An “EV” owner since 2014, Wingo understands the potential savings at the end of the year.

“Well over $1,500, and that’s just saved on the gas component,” said Wingo.

What charges the equipment? $1,500 saved compared to? Let’s say that’s true. Over 4 years, the average time people keep their cars, that would be $6,000 savings. But, a Honda Accord EXL is $30K, a base Tesla is around $37k. Once again

Beyond that, who’s paying for the EVs? They aren’t cheap, you know. The least expensive out there, excluding the tiny ones like those you rent in places like Bermuda (which makes sense there), is the Mini Cooper SE, with a range of 110 miles and a base price of $30,750. For that kind of money you could get a Honda Accord EXL or the Toyota Camry equivalent, higher end standard sedans, or the same trim levels for the CRV or RAV4. Their hybrid versions aren’t that much more expensive. And will go a lot longer, have a much lower cost of ownership, and much higher residual values.

What would the residual value of an EV be after 4 years? Even now, hybrids drop like a stone vs straight gas cars, because people are worried about replacing the batteries, even if it is a 3 year old Prius with 36,000 miles coming off lease. A straight EV?

(Autoweek) The folks over at the Mach-E Club forum snagged some alleged documents from Ford to dealers saying dealers should expect about a 40 percent residual value on the new EV after three years and near 30 percent by year four. That puts a $60K Mach-E at about $18,000. An average car loses about 25 percent in the first year, and 15-18 percent from years 2 to 6, according to Black Book. Overall, residual values average about 52 percent over 36 months. But the Mach-E isn’t alone in this depreciation, as many EV owners are learning the same thing. (snip)

The Kia Soul EV, with a 111-mile range, has a residual of just 29 percent of its original value over three years, according to Kelley Blue Book. The Nissan Leaf (150 miles) is at 34.3 percent; the Hyundai Ioniq Electric (124 miles) is 35.5 percent; the Chevy Bolt, with its solid 238-mile range, comes in near the Mach-E’s expected rate at 41 percent.

The residual on a 2021 Honda Accord EXL is 56%. The only only hybrids on the top 100 list are 2 Prius’. No EVs. And that $7,500 tax rebate only applies to the 1st owner, and goes away after so many are sold. And, it’s not $7500 in your pocket. Just a tax liability depreciation.

Duke Energy offers an EV cost calculator to compare gas vs. electric vehicles.

“The electric vehicles you’re seeing on the road coming out by the manufacturers now are much better than they were five or 10 years ago,” said Randy Wheeless, a media spokesperson for Duke Energy.

That’s not saying much.

According to Wheeless, when EV owners like Wingo charge up, more than half of it is more likely to come from nuclear, solar and hydroelectric power.

Except, most Warmists and eco-nuts are dead set against nuclear, and sue to stop hydro. Oh, where does the other half come from?

Wingo says that’s his and his company’s mission. “Our customers care deeply about the environment. So do we,” he said.

Yet, hasn’t replaced those vans yet.