That, and they cost way, way more than most people can afford
President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law on Tuesday includes $7.5 billion for building out a network of charging stations to support the auto sector’s move to electric vehicles (EVs), a move that was praised by one CEO in particular.
The infrastructure bill is “so impactful,” Michael Farkas, CEO of Blink Charging (BLNK), an EV services company, said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “It’s going to allow us to put more charging stations in the ground. It will alleviate range anxiety that people feel, hey, can these electric cars go these distances, and will spark more buying, and then, again, additional investment in infrastructure.”
Of course he’s happy about it, because he’s making bank off of it. But, let’s say it was your birthday and everyone gave you some sort of cooking grill: would you be cooking a lot of steaks if they were $17.99 a pound?
Farkas contended that while range anxiety is the greatest obstacle to mass EV adoption, “it’s not a reality.”
“The fact of the matter is the average driver in the U.S. drives less than 40 miles a day,” Farkas explained. “We have EVs out there now with 200, 300, 400, and even 500 miles in range. It’s very rare that someone sits in a car and goes 400 or 500 miles on a single charge.”
Yes, on most days that is the case. I might not even drive 20-25 miles a day. Go to work, head to Planet Fitness after, drive home. Maybe a couple miles to get lunch. Seriously, I’m not even at 24,000 on my lease which ends in February. Even taking into account 2020, I’m only down about maybe 6,000 tops, since I usually do 10k or less a year. But, if I want to drive to NJ to visit the parents, head to the mountains or ocean, I don’t want to worry about charging, nor do I feel like spending $40K, $50k, or more on a car. If I won Powerball I’d think hard about getting an Acura RDX, top end Accord or CRV (maybe even Hybrid!) or Passport. Not the way I drive.
Anyhow, a lot of this article looks more like a paid advertisement than an article, and
Farkas noted that the increasing ubiquity of charging stations can only help put prospective EV buyers at ease. And the additional government investment will allow charging station companies to expand the reach of their networks.
Yeah, doesn’t matter when people cannot afford the vehicle. Let’s say you get 3% APR for 6 years for a $54k vehicle: that’s $820 a month. Who’s good with that?
