Experts slammed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his controversial remarks, claiming that electric vehicles (EVs) are cheaper than traditional alternatives.
Buttigieg was recently criticized by the experts for his recent comments on electric vehicles, alleging that his statements were misleading.
During a House hearing on Wednesday, Buttigieg responded to Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. who also noted in his question the high average cost of EVs, suggesting that EVs can be cheaper than comparable cars with internal combustion engines and more cost-effective to fill up.
Perry also asked him what the Biden administration’s plans were to lower such costs for American consumers.
“I knew this might come up, so I pulled a few of the latest prices. A Chevy Bolt, an American-made 2022 EV is $26,595. If you want a pickup truck, like a Chevy Silverado EV or Ford F150 Lightning, the starting prices of those are $39,900 and $39,974, respectively.” Buttigieg told Perry.
“But what we’re seeing in terms of the dynamics now is we’re close to the point, and may actually be there on certain models and under certain circumstances, where the extent to which your car payment would go up, is actually already outweighed by the extent to which your gas bill would go down, even factoring in the cost of electricity,” he continued.
However, several experts stepped in and debunked Buttigieg’s misleading remarks, highlighting “that cheaper EVs are still more expensive than comparable traditional cars and must be charged more often due to their relatively low range,” experts claimed as per FoxNews.
Myron Ebell, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment also claimed that “customers are clever enough to figure this out despite the snow job from the electric vehicle promoters and people like Secretary Buttigieg.”
“It’s really kind of a con job. It may be a good deal for some people in some places under some circumstances. But by-and-large right now, it’s not a good deal.” Ebell added.
Last January, the Department of Energy also reported that EV owners need to pay to charge their vehicle more frequently than the traditional car owners.
“We systematically researched the entire industry — who buys cars, where they’re built, how much they cost, what segments they’re in and what consumers do with them. Our research shows that a lot of Americans have been given a false impression about EVs.” Patrick Anderson, the founder of Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG), said.
Buttigieg’s remarks came out as US President Biden continuously pushes for an expansion of EV ownership across the United States as part of his effort to combat climate change.
