PHOENIX — Guadalupe Higuera of Phoenix replaced his 2016 Jeep Wrangler with a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV after determining the switch would be financially comparable in the short term and cheaper over five years, according to a Department of Energy cost analysis. Higuera, 30, purchased the EV before federal subsidies worth up to $7,500 were ended by Republicans the previous year.
NPR used a federal Energy Department calculator to compare the total cost of ownership between Higuera’s Jeep and the new EV. The analysis assumed a $0 cost for the Jeep, which was still functioning well, and a net cost of $23,000 for the Equinox after applying the $7,500 federal tax credit and $15,000 from selling the Jeep. In the first year, owning the Equinox cost $10,456 compared to $8,000 for keeping the Jeep. After five years, the cumulative cost of the EV was only $1,000 more than the Jeep, and beyond that point, the EV became cheaper to own.
Higuera drove 21,300 miles in the past year—nearly 9,000 miles more than the average U.S. driver—with a driving pattern estimated as 40% city and 60% highway. His Jeep averaged approximately 20 miles per gallon, while early May gas prices in Maricopa County averaged $4.95 per gallon, according to AAA. "At what point does it make sense to ditch a gas car for an EV? Does it make sense to replace it at a certain age or mileage? Or do we just drive it until the wheels fall off?" Higuera asked. "This makes me feel a little bit happier, financially-wise, because I didn't really expect that the cost would be pretty much exactly the same, and then it gets cheaper down the line." he said.
Jeremy Michalek, director of the Carnegie Mellon University Vehicle Electrification Group, conducted separate calculations that included vehicle depreciation by assuming both vehicles would be sold after five years. "I'd say the Equinox route is likely the better value for Guadalupe," Michalek said. He also noted that because climate change was a factor in Higuera’s decision, the EV made even more sense for him.
Despite more than half of Arizona’s electricity coming from natural gas and coal, switching to the Equinox EV reduces Higuera’s carbon dioxide emissions by 80%, according to the Energy Department calculator. EVs waste less energy than internal combustion engine vehicles, contributing to lower emissions even when charged with electricity from fossil fuels.