Gas Prices Fall, Environment Suffers
Gas prices have fallen below $2.99 per gallon of regular. In the summer of 2022, the figure was closer to $5. The reason is cheap oil driven by rising production from the US and OPEC+. The trouble for the environment is that gas is now more attractive than EVs. That could damage the already damaged EV business.Â
EVs were supposed to have two benefits. One was a drop in greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation-related carbon pollution, mostly from cars, accounts for about 28% of the US total. EVs were supposed to bring that down. EV champions believe that half the new cars sold in the US by 2030 would be EVs
EVs Get Expensive
The second benefit was that electricity was much cheaper than gas. Electricity was cheaper than gas in all 50 states last year. In some states, which included Michigan, New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, the difference was small. With gas prices lower this year, the difference disappears
EVs still have to jump over hurdles that gas-powered cars do not. This means that cheap gas gives fossil-fuel-powered vehicles a larger advantage.Â
EVs have lost some of their edge as the $7,500 tax credit for buyers has expired. EVs still take longer to fuel. EV public charging stations are still not as abundant as gas stations. EVs do not fully charge in very cold weather.
Cheap gas means lower demand for EVs.
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