I used my Pixel 9 Pro XL to create the ultimate cheat sheet for saving on electric vehicles – here’s what I learned
Summer is almost over, and with just one last major holiday left before the season unofficially ends, I noticed something odd while test driving a Honda Prologue over the weekend. Gas prices were oddly lower than they were at the start of summer over Memorial Day weekend. In fact, I saw my local Costco offering unleaded gas for $2.99 a gallon.
As much as I am pleased that gas prices have not been outrageously high this summer, the national average is about $3.50 per gallon according to Tracker website YCharts. That’s still more than I want to pay and gives me another reason to potentially buy an electric vehicle. However, what’s also interesting is the average year-over-year gasoline cost, which according to US Energy Information Administrationshows that costs are lower this year than in 2023. All this got me thinking about the long-term savings I would get from an electric vehicle versus a traditional combustion engine vehicle.
This debate is by no means new, but I do know that the biggest savings on the best electric cars come from charging at home—as opposed to charging at a charging station. Using my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, I asked Google Gemini to create the ultimate EV savings cheat sheet for me to definitively find out if I’d end up saving more compared to a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle. Here’s what I found out.
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The only electric vehicle I can realistically afford
One of the biggest barriers to the increasing adoption of electric vehicles is their outrageous cost. Cost remains the main reason why U.S. car buyers are hesitant to purchase an electric vehicle on their next purchase. According to Kelly Blue Book, the average price of electric vehicles in July 2024 is $56,520.
Of all the electric vehicles I’ve tested this year, I can afford the Hyundai Kona Electric without any special incentives or tax savings. At $32,875 for the base SE trim, that’s a significant savings over the national average—and that’s on top of the Kona’s $24,350 gasoline-powered equivalent. When I test drove the Hyundai Kona Electric, I mentioned that its excellent efficiency makes it one of the best electric vehicles around, despite its limited range.
For comparison, I then asked Google Gemini on my Pixel 9 Pro XL to create a savings cheat sheet for the two vehicle types.
Google Gemini creates the ultimate cheat sheet for saving on electric vehicles
First of all, I need to determine all the parameters I need to find the true cost of owning a vehicle, so for this cheat sheet calculator, I settled on 10 years and 1,000 miles per month. Then, I asked Google Gemini to give me a formula to find the cost of owning a car over 10 years with a set fuel consumption and 1,000 miles per month. After a few seconds, the results appeared and I couldn’t believe what it was giving me.
Total cost of ownership = purchase price + fuel costs + maintenance and repairs + insurance + registration and taxes + depreciation
I only gave Gemini a few parameters to think about, but it gave me back a lot more to give me a better idea of the true cost of running a vehicle. From the formula above, it’s clear that Google Gemini also factored in fuel, insurance, registration, and other costs I didn’t think of. But what impresses me most about Gemini’s artificial intelligence is the way it breaks down the costs between the two respective vehicles.
Since there are completely different parameters for electric vehicles, Gemini has detected these parameters and automatically included them in the formula. Here is the breakdown for each parameter:
- For a petrol car:
- Annual fuel costs = (Annual mileage / fuel consumption) * Average gasoline price
- Total fuel cost = Σ(annual fuel cost * (1 + annual gasoline price increase)^year), where year is between 0 and 9.
- For an electric car:
- Annual electricity costs = (Annual mileage / efficiency) * electricity price
- Total electricity cost = Σ (annual electricity cost * (1 + annual electricity price increase)^year), where the year is between 0 and 9.
From there, I finally gave Google Gemini the details on the gasoline-powered and all-electric versions of the Kona — including their estimated fuel economy and starting prices.
- The actual cost of ownership for the gasoline-powered car is approximately $51,473 over 10 years.
- Purchase cost of the car: $24,350
- Total fuel costs over 10 years with an annual increase in gas prices of 3%: $17,123
- Maintenance and repairs over 10 years: $5,000
- Insurance over 10 years: 12,000 USD
- Registration and taxes over 10 years: $3,000
- Estimated resale value after 10 years (assuming 40% depreciation): $9,740
- The actual cost of owning the electric vehicle over 10 years is approximately $42,688.87.
- Purchase cost of the car: $32,875
- Total electricity costs over 10 years with an annual electricity price increase of 2%: $6,513.87
- Maintenance and repairs over 10 years: $3,000 (assuming lower maintenance costs for electric vehicles)
- Insurance over 10 years: 12,000 USD
- Registration and taxes over 10 years: $3,000
- Estimated resale value after 10 years (assuming 40% depreciation): $13,150
You may pay more, but Gemini says electric vehicles offer greater savings
Although the Hyundai Kona Electric costs more, Google Gemini projects a longer-term savings: $42,688.87 versus $51,473 for the gas-powered Kona. Of course, there are two specific data points I want to highlight that could have the biggest impact on these numbers. These include the annual increase in gas and electricity prices, and how well they maintain their efficiency.
Let’s start with the former. There may come a time when electricity prices skyrocket as more people buy and use electric cars. This formula also doesn’t take into account the higher costs EV drivers face when charging at a charging station rather than at home. And second, the formulas don’t take into account that vehicles often become less efficient over time – like my 15-year-old sedan, which started out getting over 38 mpg and is now getting under 30 mpg.
Either way, electric vehicles offer greater savings in the long run, as long as you can afford the higher costs. I would also like to point out that there are still ways for drivers to get free electric vehicle charging stations if they look hard enough, as well as other sustainable charging solutions using solar power.
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