With gas prices setting record highs on an almost daily basis, many drivers may consider making the switch to hybrid or fully electric vehicles. Tyler Herrmann, co-coordinator at Louisiana Clean Fuels, says the answer isn’t that simple.
“For a lot of people, it’s a totally viable option today in Louisiana,” he said. “For some people, it’s not going to be for a few years until the infrastructure catches up.”
Herrmann says that one of the major advantages of electric cars is that “filling up the tank” takes place at home, and your typical daily drive should be well within the vehicle’s limits.
“You can usually get 70-80 miles of range of charging overnight with a regular wall outlet and most people don’t drive that every day,” said Herrmann. “So the public infrastructure isn’t quite as important.”
The market is getting better for drivers of electric vehicles, with more than 16 million now on the road worldwide and sales in the U-S have doubled in the past year. Herrmann says Louisiana is ramping up the installation of charging stations around the state, which should spur even more converts to charge up rather than gas up.
“We have tripled the number of chargers over the last couple of years, and with the infrastructure bill there’s going to be $73 million of charging coming down the line in the next five years,” he added. “It’s coming really quickly.”
Prices for electric and hybrid vehicles are typically higher than those of gas-powered vehicles, but there are savings to be found.
“If you’re looking to save money by switching to an electric vehicle, you really save all your money by how much you use it by not buying gas because electricity is just so cheap,” said Herrmann.
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