The clean air benefits of electric vehicles are easy enough to understand, but figuring out the costs to buy and operate the relatively new technology is not as easy.

With transportation a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, environmentalists and policymakers are pushing to replace gas-powered vehicles with EVs. Key to accomplishing that is to spell out the long-term costs of owning EVs that are relatively new and unfamiliar to consumers compared with gas-powered cars that have been around for more than a century.

“Most people look for paybacks in very short time periods but are not taking account of the full life cycle of any type of capital equipment,” said Jonathan Rubin, a University of Maine economist who focuses on transportation.

• What does an EV cost?
• What government subsidies are available for EV purchases?
• How much does it cost to power an EV?
• What are the maintenance costs of EVs?
• What about the range? Will I be able to get where I need to go, or is it a pain?
• What’s the debate in the Legislature?

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What does an EV cost?

The average price tag for an EV is higher than for a conventional vehicle, but consumers who shop can find an EV that fits their budget. The average transaction price for electric cars was $55,242 in April, compared with $44,989 for gas-powered vehicles, according to Cox Automotive.

The transaction price of a vehicle is the final amount a buyer pays and may include rebates, fees, taxes and other charges.

Less costly EVs, according to Edmunds, are the 2024 Nissan Leaf that sells for $28,140, with a range of 149 miles, which it says is the least expensive model. Edmunds’ tested model, however, has a range of 237 miles. The 2024 Tesla Model 3, at a cost of $38,900, has a range of 342 miles.

What government subsidies are available for EV purchases?

It’s complicated.

A federal tax credit of up to $7,500 is available if the buyer meets income limits; the vehicle is made or assembled in North America; and if the cost is $80,000 or less for an electric minivan, truck and SUV, or $55,000 or less for other EVs.

However, Biden administration rules released in May limit the number of models eligible for the federal credit.

Of about 114 EV models for sale in the U.S., 22 models, or fewer than 20%, qualify for the tax credit, according to Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group. Nine models are eligible for a $3,750 credit and buyers of 13 models may claim the full $7,500.

Qualifying nonprofits in Maine receive an additional $7,500 from Efficiency Maine.

The EV must be assembled in North America and the manufacturer’s price is capped at $55,000 or less for an electric sedan, $80,000 or less for an electric SUV or truck, according to the industry group. Mineral and battery sourcing requirements also were established.

State incentives are available to Mainers regardless of income: $2,000 for new battery electric vehicles and $1,000 for new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Those with a “moderate income” of up to $70,000 for an individual qualify for $3,500 incentives for new BEVs and $2,000 for new PHEVs.

And those who are classified as “low income,” demonstrating they participate in the Home Energy Assistance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or MaineCare, are eligible for $7,500 incentives for battery EVs, $3,000 for a hybrid electric vehicle and $2,500 for a used BEV or PHEV. EV retail prices do not include incentives.

Rebates are available as instant markdowns to the price of the purchase or lease at participating dealerships. Dealers take the amount of the Efficiency Maine rebate off the final price and are reimbursed by Efficiency Maine.

State funding for EV incentives is available from a federal settlement with Volkswagen over allegations it violated the Clean Air Act, a settlement over the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line in western Maine and $3.5 million from the Maine Legislature, according to Efficiency Maine.

Beginning this year, ratepayers will contribute to EV incentives through their utility bills.  

John Wombacher, a Hancock County commissioner, paid $48,000 for a leased 2023 Kia Niro hybrid SUV a few months ago and qualified for $11,000 in state and federal subsidies. It was more expensive than his previous car, a used 2015 Buick Encore SUV.

“I did a lot of research ahead of time,” he said. “I spent much of the year before studying cars, tax credits and help I can get along the way.”

One of the quirks he learned is that although the Kia is not eligible for a $7,500 federal incentive because it’s not American-made, the subsidy is available for leased cars that foreign manufacturers use to reduce the cost, Wombacher said.

“In the end it helps you out one way or another. It’s a lower car payment,” he said.

How much does it cost to power an EV?

Determining the cost of an EV relative to driving a gasoline-powered car requires different calculations. The source of energy is a big contributor: EV charging is calculated by kilowatt-hour and the speed of the charger – sometimes parking fees get tacked on – while conventional cars use gasoline that changes in price daily due to world oil markets.

A Toyota Camry with a 506-mile range on a nearly 16-gallon tank costs $55.30 to fill up, at the current average cost of gas in Maine of $3.50 a gallon. A Chevrolet Bolt, with a 259-mile range and 65 kWh battery, costs $44.73 to fully charge at a public, commercial high-speed charger. The costs are based on 2023 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. However, the cost is half that to charge at home, based on utility electricity rates.

A motorist driving 12,000 miles a year will spend $1,077 for a gas vehicle and $648 for an EV, according to Drive Electric Vermont, a project of the Vermont Energy Investment Corp., a public-private partnership. The cost of operating an EV is more stable because electricity costs are regulated by the state while gas prices are volatile and are a function of global energy markets.

In the Portland area, for example, plugshare.com lists dozens of charging stations with different information on per-kWh charges and whether or not parking is free.

Geoff Marshall of Little Deer Island said solar power at his home saves money to charge his 2022 Volkswagen ID4, an electric SUV he describes as a “large, powerful AWD beast” with an average efficiency of about 3.3 miles per kWh that he admits is “not great.” He has driven the SUV 20,000 miles since March 2023.

At a market rate of 28 cents a kWh, he would have spent $1,697 in electricity to charge the vehicle over the time he’s used it. But with his solar-subsidized electricity, he paid $564.

What are the maintenance costs of EVs?

Maintenance costs are lower over time for EVs because they have far fewer parts than a conventional car.

“There are virtually no maintenance costs,” Rubin said.

Marshall said his wife’s electric 2019 Hyundai Kona had few repair costs in the 78,000 miles it’s been driven: for mounting, balancing and aligning tires; and replacing wipers, fluid and headlight bulbs. The battery was replaced in a recall, he said.

AAA estimates the yearly maintenance fees for an electric Chevrolet Equinox to be $1,724. That reflects retail parts and labor for routine maintenance, a comprehensive warranty and repairs for wear-and-tear during five years of operation.

What about the range? Will I be able to get where I need to go, or is it a pain?

The availability of EV charging stations is “still a weak point” with distances too great between chargers, Rubin said.

Though rural areas in northern and western Maine have fewer chargers than southern Maine’s urban areas, chargers can be installed more cost-effectively in single homes in rural counties than in urban centers where apartments must be retrofitted, he said.

Maine and the rest of the U.S. are building out an EV charging network to blunt so-called range anxiety, the worry that EV batteries will sputter and halt because a charger is nowhere in sight. Gov. Janet Mills announced in June that Maine will add 52 high-speed electric vehicle charging stations at 17 locations in the next year, with many in rural areas. Federal funding of $8.6 million will pay for the work.

The fast-charging stations, which can power an EV from empty to 80% in 20 minutes to 1 hour, will expand Maine’s charging network along major highways such as Interstate 95, U.S. Route 2, U.S. Route 302 and areas of Portland and Bangor.

The expansion more than doubles the number of places where the state has paid to install high-speed EV chargers. Maine has funded chargers at 15 other sites that are already open and publicly accessible high-speed chargers operate at more than 70 other locations statewide.

Slower, Level 2 chargers – common in homes and workplaces – are available at 409 public sites in Maine, according to the state. These can charge a battery-powered EV to 80% in four to 10 hours and a plug-in hybrid EV in one to two hours.

Rubin said chargers have “taken off tremendously” in the last year and will continue to do so as federal funding is made available from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Elyse Pasquale, a New York City resident, was charging a rented Polestar 2 EV Friday at a Walmart Supercenter in South Portland on her way to Whitefield. It was her second charging on the seven-hour, 368-mile trip, she said.

Pasquale, 48, sold an Audi when she moved to Manhattan where she relies on public transportation, particularly air-conditioned buses, she said. The EV was the first she’s driven.

“I knew nothing,” she said, describing her attempt just to find the charging plug her first time out. “I looked confused until somebody helped me.”

The car maps out EV chargers, even as she heads to rural northern Maine. And although she expected to wait 30 to 40 minutes to fully charge the car, it’s air conditioned and comfortable, she said. Still, of the four chargers at the parking lot, one was out of order and several cars were waiting their turn for a charger.

What’s the debate in the Legislature?

Electric vehicles are a political issue. Legislative Republicans and car dealers have criticized a move to adopt standards increasing the share of electric and hybrid cars and trucks sold in Maine to 51% of all vehicles in 2028 and 82% in 2032. Bipartisan legislation enacted this year gives state lawmakers, not appointed members of the Board of Environmental Protection, the final say on adopting the standards.

Legislators could vote on the standards next year.

State Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, opposes public subsidies. “For decades, gas-powered vehicle rebates have been the financial responsibility of the manufacturer,” he said recently in response to a question.

Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Somerset, said Republicans do not oppose EVs but believe consumers should make their own decisions based on a vehicle’s price, and that manufacturers should act based on customer demand.

Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which was among environmental groups petitioning the state to adopt EV standards, said manufacturing worldwide is “decisively moving to the EV market.”

“You’ll see a lot of support for tax credits for EVs,” he said. “I don’t see them going away anytime soon.”

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