A new report on inventory of electric cars sold this year, 2022, have revealed that car manufacturers sold a record number of electric vehicles so far this year, as demand for the car increases at astronomical rate.
According to Kelley Blue Book Report, due to the rise in demand, more sales are on the assembly line. Meanwhile, the report further indicated that Americans alone bought almost twice as many electric cars in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
Reacting to the report, Tampa Hybrids co-owner, Todd Thompson, who sells and services hybrid and electric cars, stated that the growing popularity of electric cars are not surprising to him.
“The beauty about electric car is you have eliminated the most problematic part of the car- your engine. With electric and hybrids cars, the mileage is almost meaningless. You’re almost better off with high mileage because batteries age in time not miles. But as the miles go up, the price goes down.”
Todd Thompson
Mr Thompson intimated that maintenance routines like oil changes, water pumps, and spark plug replacements go out of the door with electric cars. “So there is really a very little maintenance on electric cars. You only got to cater for tires, wiper blades, cabin air filters. That’s just about it”.
Electric Cars Come With High Prices
Meanwhile, the most popular electric car is currently Tesla. That notwithstanding, electric cars tend to be more expensive than most buyers can afford, averaging about $56,000 for an electric car in 2021. But more companies are working to make lower priced cars, such as the Nissan Leaf starting at $27,400 for a 2022 model. Buying used versus buying new for a better deal can vary based on the manufacturer.
“With the Tesla, there’s only a couple of models that pay to buy used cars- the Model 3 and the Model Y. You might as well just order a new one if you can wait because you’ll pay more for a used one in today’s market than a brand new one.”
Todd Thompson
The report indicated that the main choice by buyers is between short range or long range cars, or how many hours one will want to drive at one time.
“There’s short range electric cars like the Nissan Leafs, the Ford Focus electric; some of those you can buy for around $10,000, and they’re great second hand cars just to kind of zip back and forth to work with.”
Todd Thompson
Kelley Blue Book stated that electric car sales made up of more than 5 percent of all car sales for the first time ever. However, less than one percent of cars on the road are electric, so it’s still a growing market. Electric cars can be expensive, but car experts say drivers pay much less to maintain them in the long run.
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