N.Y.C. Saving Money With Electric Vehicles

Electric cars are not cheap, but prices are continuing to drop. Along with state and federal incentives and lower fuel, maintenance, and repair costs, these vehicles look to be a good option for fleet owners, reports Michael J. Coren.

Coren says that data about electric vehicles in fleets is not substantial enough to draw definite conclusions, but recent evidence from New York City suggests that the investment in electric vehicles is paying off in the long run:

In what it calls the first analysis of its kind (pdf), the city analyzed fuel and maintenance costs for 1,893 of its 9,196 light-passenger vehicles in 2018. It found servicing costs with all-electric vehicle models was less than for gas, hybrid, and hybrid plug-in models.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf and hybrid plug-in Toyota Prius are especially good values when factoring in the purchase price of the vehicles. "Despite slightly higher initial prices compared to the gas-powered Ford Fusion, the Leaf is expected to save the city $8,748, or 21% of the expected $41,328 for the gasoline car over the course of nine years," writes Coren.