Effects of fuel cost and driving behaviors on operational costs of gasoline and electric vehicles in the US

Abstract

Internal combustion engine vehicles have long dominated personal vehicle sales in the United States. As electric vehicles gain market share, understanding fuel costs of gasoline versus electric vehicles (EVs) is increasingly relevant for potential buyers and for researchers. In particular, understanding the influence of fuel price volatility on fuel costs is of interest. Although it is well known that fueling an EV is cheaper than fueling a gasoline vehicle, costs are less commonly expressed in explicit spatially and temporally resolved terms. This note presents an Excel model that includes state-specific gasoline and residential electricity price data for US states between 2015–2020, including both average overall electricity prices and lowest-cost time-of-use electricity rates (measured over a consecutive 8-hour potential residential charging period) for each state. This model, which we call the Fuel Cost Calculator, also allows users to evaluate the impact of several major external and driver behavior factors on fuel costs for gasoline versus electric vehicles. These combinations of these factors result in unique scenarios which make price differences for the fuel costs more variable. With the Fuel Cost Calculator, the user can create specific scenarios reflecting potential real-world conditions to create cost estimates for gasoline and residential EV fueling over user-determined time periods and distances. Fuel costs for gasoline vehicles are generally higher than for electric vehicles in the US, consistent with prior studies. We also explicitly show that fuel cost budgets are much more volatile for gasoline versus electric vehicles charged at a residence, given the much less stable price of oil versus electricity. This volatility is sufficiently large so as to be relevant for vehicle owner budgets. The FCC also shows carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with vehicle use, resolved at the state level.