Why an EV Should Be Your First Car

The EV community is scratching its collective head about why electric car sales are stalling, instead of accelerating. The Union of Concerned Scientists points fingers at the auto makers, saying they aren’t fielding enough models, and aren’t making EVs easy to find.

I suggest that part of the problem is a popular assertion that EVs are a great choice for a second car in the average urban household. For example, recently Michael Liebreich, advisory board chairman at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, talks about the electric vehicle as "already the perfect second car."

With due respect, that line of thinking is keeping EV adoption stuck in first gear.

An EV can and should be your first car.

The First Choice for Most Uses

Since 87% of your daily driving is within the range of an EV, you can hop in an electric vehicle or a gas-powered one for the vast majority of your car use. Here are the reasons why the EV is a better first choice:

  • Owning an EV can save you $10,000 over five years, compared to a gas-powered car. 
  • With instant, silent torque, an electric car brings a new dimension of fun to your drive.
  • Those nine trips out of ten—when you hit the accelerator but burn no gas—you make another small step towards a more sustainable planet.
  • The EV can even help you become more healthy and neighborly.

Considering all this, it does not make sense to use a more expensive, noisy, polluting and personally limiting option as your first choice for what will be the vast majority of your driving.

Own an EV, Share an ICE 

An internal combustion engine (ICE) car is the better alternative only for those 13% of trips beyond a convenient range for your EV. And if you're sorry to leave the advantages of your EV at home, here’s a tip: you can save even more money, make the trip more interesting, and further reduce your footprint using a car-sharing service.

  • Save more money: the AAA estimates that owning a car costs you $8558 per year on average. Ouch. So for your second (gas powered) car, you sign up for Turo. You use a $40/day car once a week, and for two weeks of vacation, for a total annual cost of $2640 (66 days x $40). Add in another $1000 for gas, and you still save $5000 that you can put towards solar panels.
  • Have more fun: rent a Honda, slide into a BMW, grab a pickup or a minivan… with car sharing, you can drive many different cars, and get the type of car you need for each trip.
  • Shrink your footprint: the use of car-sharing services reduces traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.

So when you hear people say that an EV makes a good second car, set them straight. An electric car is the first, and perhaps the only, car you need to own.