California policies keep contradicting themselves. Now it’s the switch to electric vehicles.
Newsom himself enthused, “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.”
By “plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,” they mean the kind that run on both gas and a plug-in battery. By contrast, most hybrids recharge their batteries from the gas-powered engine. All the hybrid models below are the latter.
The article is not intended as a criticism of California’s policies. But it does so anyway by comparing costs for two types of cars, gas/hybrid vs. all electric, for three locations: Pasadena, Calif., Middleboro, Mass., and Orlando, Fla. The result, whether for the gas/hybrid sector, or all-electric, shows California is by far the most expensive, Massachusetts in the middle, and Florida the least expensive.
Under “Energy Prices Used in the Comparisons,” we find:
The key here is electricity, which in California costs 79 percent more than in Massachusetts. How can Newsom and the CARB entice us to buy electric cars when they won’t reform the electricity system so driving one costs less?
The car vs. car comparisons also are telling. The “Small Car Winner” is the Toyota Corolla Hybrid, which costs $25,145, over the all-electric Nissan Leaf SV Plus, at $33,385. The Leaf’s high price greatly offsets its energy savings and state tax incentives. The Corolla is on the left, the Leaf on the right:
Naturally there’s a Tesla on the list, and its Model 3 AWD is the Sports Sedan Winner. Its $50,240 sticker is a bit less than rival the BMW 330i xDrive’s $52,995. The fuel savings also is obvious here, even with the high cost of electricity in California. Although personally I’d still pick the BMW if you gave me a choice of one for my birthday in June. The Beamer is on the left, the Tesla on the right:
In the Small SUV category, the winner is the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid for $33,194, over the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 at $51,020. This is an interesting comparison because they’re roughly equivalent cars from the same manufacturer. But the Hybrid, left on the chart, is so much cheaper than the electric, on the right, even though fuel costs are still higher:
Finally, Consumer Reports makes a similar comparison between two Ford F-150 trucks. The winner is the all-electric F-150 Lightning Extended Range, costing $80,889, over the F-150 Hybrid, at $69,935. It concluded, “If you live in a region with relatively high gas prices and low electricity costs, a well-equipped Ford F-150 Lightning Extended Range pickup truck might save you enough money on fuel alone to make buying a pricier EV a better choice than a similar hybrid version, which only gets 20 mpg overall.”
What jumps out is the cost of the Hybrid in California, $2,626 a year, compared to the all-electric Lightning in Florida, $819, one-third as much.
Finally, this situation is so typical of California. The politicians and bureaucrats mandate something to impress the whole world, which ignores the gesture—but for those of us living here, nothing is done to reduce the high costs of complying with the mandate.
Especially hurt by the 100 percent electric mandate by 2035 will be the middle class and the working poor, who will have to pay much more for both cars and energy, including electricity for the EVs, than people in other states. That means millions more will just get in their old, creaking, polluting gas-guzzlers and drive out of the Golden State, never to return.
