Keystone Today

When it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle, Americans are mainly concerned about charging station logistics as well as the limitations with travel range. 

A reporter for The Wall Street Journal attested to both of these factors in a recent piece, where she writes about the major difficulties faced while taking a long road trip in an EV. Readers should know what they are getting into before deciding to take a long trip in an electric vehicle. The number of public EV charging stations in Pennsylvania is less than 3,300.

"I thought it would be fun," consumer trends reporter Rachel Wolfe said. "That’s what I told my friend Mack when I asked her to drive with me from New Orleans to Chicago and back in an electric car. I’d made long road trips before, surviving popped tires, blown headlights and shredded wheel-well liners in my 2008 Volkswagen Jetta. I figured driving the brand-new Kia EV6 I’d rented would be a piece of cake. If, that is, the public-charging infrastructure cooperated."

In summation, Wolfe and her friend traveled 2,013 miles from New Orleans to Chicago and back. This distance required them to spend 18 hours and $175 in order to charge the EV on a total of 14 occasions. Wolfe estimated that during the four-day road trip, she and her friend spent $175 on charging the Kia EV6. The equivalent cost for gas in a Kia Forte would have been $275, according to AAA average national gas price data during the period of their trip. 

Current electric vehicles can traverse an average of 250 miles during a single charge, according to University of California Davis EV Research Center. Depending on how large the battery is and what kind of charging station is utilized, EVs with bigger batteries can take up to 20+ hours using a 120V charger and four to eight hours using a 240V charger. Those that are equipped for fast-charging can receive an 80% charge in about 20 minutes.

The present amount of EV charging stations in Pennsylvania is 3,256, PlugShare reports.

A Consumer Reports survey, which gathered 8,027 interviews, demonstrates that more than six in 10 Americans say weak charging station logistics are stopping them from purchasing an electric vehicle, while more than half (55%) say EVs' small travel range on a single charge is stopping them from buying one. In that same Consumer Reports survey, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans asked said they would not buy an electric vehicle right now. Of those who said they're worried about cost-related considerations, 58% of respondents said the high purchase price of an EV is holding them back from buying.

In compliance with his clean energy stand and commitment to having EVs make up a majority of new car purchases as of 2030, President Biden extended a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of new all-electric vehicles under the new Inflation Reduction Act signed into law this month, CNBC reports. However, according to Seth Goldstein, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar, the tax credit has "price and income restrictions." For example, sedans must be sold at a price below $55,000 to be eligible. SUVs, trucks and vans must be sold below $80,000 for the buyer to receive a tax credit.