CBO report on the effect of federal tax credits on EV sales

[Amary]

The Congressional Budget Office just issued their new report:

Effects of Federal Tax Credits for the Purchase of Electric Vehicles

 

[TickTock]

Love the cover. Looks like he is running his dryer off his EV battery. :lol:

 

[ebill3]

Love the cover. Looks like he is running his dryer off his EV battery. :lol:

And we pay those people? Unbelievable.

 

[Nekota]

While I disagree with some of the assumptions used in the calculations e.g. $3.60 gas rising to $3.90 by 2020, the conclusion is the tax credit is too small at $7500 to increase the sales of EVs and offset CO2. An increase of 40% to 60% is needed to offset the difference between ICE and EV costs.

 

[glemieux]

From the report:

All-electric vehicles are closer to being cost competitive
with conventional vehicles than are
plug-in hybrids with the same size battery, but the
tax credits would still need to be about 50 percent
higher than they are now to fully offset the higher
lifetime costs of an all-electric vehicle. The key reason
is that the limits on how far all-electric vehicles can
travel before needing to be recharged reduce their savings
in fuel costs. Without those limits—that is, if
all-electric vehicles could be driven the same distance
as conventional or plug-in hybrid vehicles—the
$7,500 tax credit would generally be sufficient to
make them cost-competitive.

Here's there reasoning on the limits arguement:

Because all-electric vehicles have no secondary fuel source and
cannot travel long distances before being recharged, CBO assumes
that they will be driven roughly half as far each year as other
vehicles. If everything else is equal, that reduced driving range
increases the relative operating costs of all-electric vehicles,
because fewer miles traveled means smaller savings in fuel costs.

Wait, What? Can someone explain what the heck they're talking about here?

 

[DeaneG]

What the authors are trying to make clear is that none of them have ever owned an electric vehicle.

 

[grommet]

That is one fine stock image artist: http://tinyurl.com/anchwye" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (This is how I keep cool on a hot day with my Ferrari.)

 

[adric22]

Wow.. that plug looks dangerous. Since the prongs stick out on the side of the cable that would be live, you could touch the end of the cable and electrocute yourself.