Opinion: 5 Ways Rural Drivers Benefit From EVs

Despite being presented as the ideal vehicle for “urbanites and city dwellers who don’t drive long distances,” it’s actually rural drivers who stand to benefit the most from making the switch to an electric vehicle (EV). And that’s often true regardless of what state they live in or what type of vehicle they currently drive. And, while it’s true that rural communities across the country have their own cultures and characteristics, common themes like longer driving distances, larger vehicles, and a number of shared socio-economic factors all contribute to a potential benefit from vehicle electrification.

So, without further ado, here are five reasons why rural drivers stand to benefit the most from switching to an electric car.

1 – LONGER DISTANCES = BIGGER SAVINGS THAN SHORT DISTANCES

Electric vehicles cost less to “fuel up” than their gas or diesel-powered counterparts, which means that the longer distances traveled by drivers in rural communities equal bigger savings in fuel and maintenance costs for them than for their city-dwelling counterparts.

Most modern EVs offer considerably more range than people think. The Volkswagen ID.4 Pro, for example, offers SUV-style grocery-hauling capacity and more than 260 miles of range – and can charge from nearly “empty” to “full” in under 45 minutes at a level 6 charger …

… that means that every time a rural driver needs to make a six- or seven-hour drive, they’ll need to stop for lunch. Which they were probably going to do, anyway. What’s more, in a Mustang Mach-E or Tesla, which can charge at Level 7, they’ll only need to stop for about 20 minutes.

2 – BIGGER, OLDER VEHICLES = BIGGER SAVINGS THAN SMALLER, NEWER VEHICLES

Rural communities tend to own bigger vehicles like pickups, SUVs, and minivans in greater proportions than urban communities, and they tend to buy used and/or keep their cars longer, as well. In Maryland, for example, one study showed that 49 percent of vehicles in rural areas are more than 10 years old. Larger, older vehicles are more likely to need repairs than newer ones, and they’re less fuel-efficient even than when they were new, so fuel savings from switching to a comparably-sized EV are likely to be even greater for drivers of these vehicles.

How much could drivers save in just fuel? Using DOE and utility data from PGE, a typical five-passenger SUV takes about $35 worth of gas to go 300 miles. An electric car can go those same 300 miles on just $7 of “electric fuel”.

What’s more, with all the available electric vehicle incentives that are already here – with more soon to come – the cost to choose an electric truck is comparable, or even less than the cost to buy a new V8 pickup truck while offering better performance and more “ on the job” capability.

3 – RURAL DRIVERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO CHARGE IN A GARAGE

It’s a simple truth that most EV charging occurs at home, in the garage – and it’s also a simple truth that rural drivers are much more likely to live in single-family homes than their urban counterparts who live in multi-unit apartment buildings or townhomes with street parking.

In Maine, Virginia, and Vermont, for example, more than 85 percent of rural and suburban households live in single- or two-family homes with garages or driveways can charge at home from their driveways or garages using standard, commonly accessible 110V or 220V wall outlets.

4 – EVS ARE BECOMING MORE AFFORDABLE FOR EVERYONE

The car market is hot right now, with used cars commanding higher prices than ever and new cars often selling for thousands of dollars above their sticker price. That’s not necessarily true with EVs, which many dealers – especially in rural America – still seem willing to offer discounts on. With the price of certain models being driven down, too, by external factors and up to $12,500 in federal tax credits (not to mention state or local utility incentives) aimed at making EVs more accessible to low and middle-income families, electric cars may be some of the only cars you can get a great deal on today.

5 – RURAL DRIVERS RELY ON THEIR VEHICLES MORE THAN URBAN DRIVERS

It’s been nearly 25 years since the first Toyota Prius hybrids first came to market (yes, it was 1997), and in that time the electronics and batteries in these electrified vehicles have proven themselves again and again to be more reliable, and cheaper to own, than anyone predicted. At least one Tesla driver in Canada, for example, has put more than 700,000 miles on their Tesla Model S …

https://twitter.com/DriveTeslaca/status/1378582364633190400

… which is impressive, but hardly the whole story. In 2019, a shuttle service in Southern California called Tesloop maintained a fleet of Teslas that racked up over 300,000 miles each, with no signs of slowing down.

“The company’s fleet of seven vehicles — a mix of Model Xs, Model 3s and a Model S — are now among the highest-mileage Teslas in the world,” writes Michael Coren, in Quartz Magazine. “They zip almost daily between Los Angeles, San Diego, and destinations in between. Each of Tesloop’s cars are regularly racking up about 17,000 miles per month (roughly eight times the average for corporate fleet mileage). Many need to fully recharge at least twice each day.”

That’s the kind of reliability that people who don’t have the option of casually hailing a cab, hopping a train, or riding a bike to work can – and should – be able to depend on.

In conclusion, it’s not really clear why rural communities and middle America are so often overlooked by EV proponents. Even journalists get this wrong more often than not – frequently overlooking the fact that access to garages means rural drivers don’t need the same level of public infrastructure support to make the switch to EVs viable that city drivers do. At the end of the day, the lower cost to buy, incredible fuel savings, reduced cost of ownership, and better than expected dependability make EVs a no-brainer for your country cousins … if only someone would tell them!

[Images: Provided by the author, guteksk7/Shutterstock.com]