TimLee said:
It is becoming more and more clear that it is completely unrealistic for most LEAF purchaser's total cost of ownership to be less than driving a comparable ICE that they purchase.
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The battery is a consumable, and future battery replacement needs to be accounted for in the cost of ownership.
To break even vs a smelly noisy jerky gasoline car isn't my goal, but if it was:
Battery cost per mile are going to be significant, for many people. Life will vary depending on temperature, the cost is unknown. But let us put some reasonable bounds on it.
Phoenix, AZ, for a 5,000 miles per year, battery EOL (End Of Life) of 70%, battery life of just more than 5 years (just missing the warranty) and 25,000 miles, high battery replacement cost of US$15000, cost per mile of $0.60
Juneau, AK, for 30,000 miles per year, EOL at 70%, battery life of about 10 years and 300k miles, low battery replacement cost of $4000, cost per mile of $0.013
Raleigh, NC, for 12,500 miles per year, EOL at 70%, battery life of about 9 years and 112,500 miles, mid replacement cost of $8000, cost per mile of $0.071
The above costs are of course for battery only, need to add several cents per mile for electric power, more for insurance, licenses, tires, etc..
Also, EOL might be high or lower than 70%. If the Phoenix driver could live with 50% EOL it would halve the cost per mile.
Compare with a Prius gas cost of $2, $4 and $6 and resulting costs per mile of $0.04, $0.08 and $0.12
At somewhere around $5 per gallon gasoline, the average driver might be close to breaking even on the battery+electric power vs gasoline. Someone in the Pacific NW that drives a reasonable number of miles (not too many and not too few) and can live with a 70% EOL and doesn't DCQC and doesn't deep cycle the battery and probably a long list of other items, that person might be ahead over the life of the car, if the gas price stays near the current $3.70 per gallon or $1/liter.