Electric Vehicles

Most EVs are comparable in cost to similarly featured ICE counterparts, but the manufacturers have mostly chosen to compete higher up the price ladder.

The Tesla Model 3 starts at $38k and can go up to about $55k with certain features. That's similarly priced to a Lexus ES or a BMW 3 series, which I think is roughly its competition in terms of luxury features, performance, etc.

The Hyundai Ionic 5 and Kia EV6 seem to be competing with things like the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V, and seem to be similarly priced between $35,000 and $50,000.

I know less about the higher end market segments ($75k+), but at a glance the EV BMWs, Porsches, and Volvos seem to be similarly priced as their gasoline counterparts.

Really, though, as the 2020-2025 models hit the used market we'll see a lot more used vehicles at affordable prices.

And once purchased, the actual cost of operation and maintenance is much cheaper. Not just the gasoline, but also oil changes and other stuff that comes from lots of different fluids flowing around (valves, seals, pumps), air needing to flow through the engine to support combustion, and the transmission of the rotational energy of the engine's narrow range of efficient rotational speeds to the wheels across the entire speed range of the vehicle. EV tires tend to be more expensive and wear out quicker, but the overall cost of maintenance is much lower for EVs than internal combustion.

The point is they COULD be cheaper if our current admin didn't go balls deep back into oil. Other countries make extremely affordable EV cars. The US chose to enter the EV market with 6 figure electric trucks, and "entry level" evs that cost 40k plus, and then get confused why no one buys them.

You have to look beyond gas and look at total cost of ownership. Not to mention the time spent taking your vehicle in for service on a regular basis.

I think all the truly cheap ones aren't in production this year, a few years ago a Chevy bolt with the tax incentive was literally the cheapest vehicle to buy with a warranty and a loan, period, and that includes 3-4 year old used vehicles (no tax incentive and worse interest, sticker price was lower).