Electric vehicles cost less than half that of gasoline, according to a study about fuel costs published on Thursday by the University of Michigan.
The average cost to operate an electric vehicle in the United States is $ 485 per year, while the average for a gasoline vehicle is 1,117, according to the study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the Transportation Research Institute of Michigan.
This study only examined fuel costs, but it was also found that the cost of maintaining electric vehicles is lower because they have fewer moving parts, no exhaust system, less need for cooling, fewer options for abrasive braking and no need to change the oil, air filters, timing belts, cylinder head gaskets or spark plugs.
“Electric cars are much better than internal combustion devices,” said James Anderson, a scientist at Harvard University. He was not referring to the recent Michigan study, but he made his own comparison. “I mean they are incredibly fun to drive, they are fast, fast, silent. They do not have carbon dioxide that comes out of the back. “
Anderson, a well-known atmospheric chemist, offers about 150 undergraduate students in his Physical Science course the opportunity to get behind the wheel of his red Chevy Bolt. It helps them visualize a cleaner future, he said.