March 10,2022 – Amid the recent rush of news reports that gas prices in the U.S. are climbing to their highest levels since the Great Recession, American car owners are already looking at greener, more fuel-efficient options.
While gas spikes have historically led buyers to switch to more fuel-efficient options – as they’re clearly seeking to do here – the pandemic-driven semiconductor and materials shortage has severely limited the supply of new cars. If you’re buying a new EV, you probably shouldn’t be doing so right now if cost savings are your primary goal.
The average new car cost rose to $46,085 in February, and as Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights, noted in an email, modern EVs tend to be more expensive options. As Edmunds notes, if you can even find one, the average transaction price for a new EV was $60,054 in February (though it’s unclear how tax incentives figure into that number.)
