Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Mechanic
I think Nissan quoted their estimated cost per mile to be 6.5 cents, but I don't think that included the battery. The battery alone could set you back another 10 cents a mile, which makes it much more costly than either of my cars. Also add depreciation to the equation and the cost per mile gets pretty high.
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Where did Nissan estimate the cost? The only thing I've seen is a unadjusted combined rating of
~225Wh/mile. At 11c/kWh (U.S. average IIRC), that's ~2.4c/mile. To put that in perspective, a Prius gets ~70mpg combined w/o adjustment, so that's ~4.3c/mile. Battery costs also aren't ~10c/mile unless the owner has the pack replaced at ~90% capacity. In low volume over the counter they're about the same per mile as electricity if replaced at 70% capacity. An OEM can get lower prices, but they'll also charge more for a new pack so I figure ~3+c/mile is reasonable for the pack given a reasonable (uses something like the Leaf for ~50+ miles round trip worst case) driver.
While I agree that the costs of low volume EVs probably don't justify their purchase versus an efficient hybrid, given the difference in maintenance costs, especially as the mileage starts approaching ~150k+, I think they'll also be pretty close in terms of the average cost per mile once everything is factored in even w/ a ~$10+k premium. In mass production, they'll probably be better than a comparable hybrid, although the market will probably be limited since a 5c/mile difference probably isn't enough to warrant the lower range and longer refueling times for most IMO.