I bought my current car 5 years ago second hand outright for £12k. These cars are at least £35k out of my price range and are about half the cost of my house. I'm not rich.
Until these cars are more reasonably priced (up front cost) the majority of people can't afford to buy them regardless of their range or potential saving on fuel.
You really can't fairly compare cost between new and used. EVs have been around long enough now that you could find a used Leaf, Tesla, or some others that would be in that price range.
Currently prices are still high because most manufacturers are addressing range by adding larger batteries. They have been able to do that because the price of batteries has been dropping year over year. As the battery costs continue to get lower, the auto manufacturers will be able to start bringing out models with a lower initial cost.
Prior to this, the market for EVs has been small so the manufacturers have had to focus on higher margin, premium vehicles. As the market expands, the increase in volume will let them bring out models in the more affordable price points.
> EVs have been around long enough now that you could find a used Leaf, Tesla, or some others that would be in that price range.
At least in a regular market; the used market right now is one where Teslas appreciate in value, since buying a new one is likely to be 1-2 years out[0]. Deliveries will likely be normalized for 3/Y within the next year as Gigafactory Texas comes online.
You're correct. My last care was a 6 month old second hand. Depreciation is the reason I go second hand. The EV costs are still too high though for a 6 month second hand. I'm also worried about the battery. To be fair my only knowledge of lithium batterys is smartphones. So from that how long does an EV battery last? How much is it to replace? And the nonsense that is buying the car but renting the battery?
EV batteries hold up much better than in smartphones. Data from Teslas shows 1%-2% degradation per year (so you can expect to have 80%+ of range after 10 years).
Leaf fares worse (~4% per year), but it only has air-cooled battery. Tesla and other modern EVs have active battery management system that heats and cools the battery to keep it in the right temperature range.
Replacement is costly, unfortunately. It's the most expensive component of an electric car.
>As the market expands, the increase in volume will let them bring out models in the more affordable price points.
I'm still not sure how this is going to shake out in the secondhand market. I have a feeling the cost of replacing a battery is going to put a floor on the price of EV's.
Until these cars are more reasonably priced (up front cost) the majority of people can't afford to buy them regardless of their range or potential saving on fuel.