Chevy Volt

A new Chevy volt cost $40,000 and you get a $7,500 rebate from the government so your net cost is $32,500. The batteries are guaranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles and to replace them at that time will cost $10,000. Since a new car depreciates 90% in 8 years the car would be worth $4,000. But who would pay this knowing that they had to invest $10,000 in a new battery. In reality the car would be worth junk price of maybe $100 so the cost of ownership is $32,400. Estimated mileage is 40 mpg and the average driver goes 13,000 miles per year so fuel cost using $3.50 per gallon for gas is $9,100. This does not include the cost, time and inconvenience of charging. A new Chevy Cruze cost $20,000 and in 8 years can be sold for $2,000 so the cost of ownership is $18,000. This car gets 30 mpg so total fuel cost is $12,133. The difference in ownership cost between the two is $32,500 minus $18,000 or $14,500 less the fuel saving of $3,000 means the Volt cost $11,500 more or $1,437 per year. If the government did not supplement the annual cost of a Volt would be $2,374. The breakeven point will when the price of gas hits $13.40 per gallon, but that may be several years down the road and the cost of cars may be much higher so a new calculation would be required. From an environmental standpoint one half of the production of electricity in the US is from coal which adds more pollutants to the air than petroleum products. There will come a time when the electric car is competitive but that requires new ways of making batteries and new methods to charge the batteries.