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Guadalupe Higuera, a 30-year-old software developer in Phoenix, ran a Department of Energy calculator to compare the total cost of keeping his 2016 Jeep Wrangler against buying a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox electric vehicle. The tool showed that the Equinox costs $10,456 to own and operate in its first year compared with $8,000 for the already-paid-off Jeep, but the gap closes after five years when the EV has cumulatively cost just $1,000 more. From year six onward, the calculator showed, the electric vehicle becomes cheaper to own.

Higuera said his question was motivated by both saving money and reducing the greenhouse gases warming the climate. His family has operated an auto repair shop north of downtown Phoenix since before he was born, and he said he grew up with the idea that it is wasteful to replace a vehicle that still runs.

“I remember having that conversation with my parents [and] my older brother, before I got my current car,” Higuera said. “And they’re like, ‘your car — we can keep fixing it. It’s still good. There’s nothing wrong with it.’”

To make the comparison, NPR reporter Camila Domonoske and Higuera entered data into the energy department’s calculator. Domonoske assigned a zero purchase cost to the Jeep because Higuera already owned it, and input $23,000 for the Equinox’s effective cost after subtracting the $7,500 federal tax credit Higuera received before Republicans ended the incentive program last year and the $15,000 he received from selling the Jeep. The calculator factored in Arizona’s state-average electricity rates, a $4.95 per gallon gasoline price reported by AAA for Maricopa County in early May, and Higuera’s annual mileage of 21,300 miles — roughly 9,000 miles more than the average driver.

Domonoske told Higuera over a video call that the two cost lines on the graph narrow significantly after the first year. After five years, the Equinox costs just $1,000 more cumulatively, and from there on, it is cheaper to own the Equinox.

“This makes me feel a little bit happier, financially-wise, because I didn’t really expect that the cost would be pretty much exactly the same, and then it gets cheaper down the line,” Higuera said.

Several factors shape Higuera’s financial outcome: he secured the $7,500 tax credit before it expired, he drives significantly more miles than average, and his Jeep averaged only around 20 miles per gallon. Domonoske noted the calculation would shift considerably for a more efficient gasoline vehicle.

“This would look really different if your 2016 vehicle had been a Prius,” Domonoske said, noting that a Prius averages 52 miles per gallon and would cut gas costs by more than half compared with the Jeep.

The calculator does not account for depreciation. Jeremy Michalek, director of the Carnegie Mellon University Vehicle Electrification Group and a professor of engineering and public policy, ran his own calculations that factored in selling both vehicles after five years. Michalek said there are uncertainties in such projections but suspects that even with the extra depreciation, Higuera saves money with the Equinox.

“I’d say the Equinox route is likely the better value for Guadalupe,” Michalek said.

The calculator also tracks emissions based on the local electricity mix. More than half of Arizona’s power is generated by burning natural gas and coal, but the tool showed Higuera still cuts his carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by switching from the Jeep. Michalek explained that EVs waste less energy: internal combustion engines convert less than 25 percent of the energy in gasoline to wheel motion, while electric drivetrains use about 90 percent of the energy in electricity.

Manufacturing emissions present another consideration. Michalek said producing electric vehicles involves a higher emissions intensity than producing gasoline vehicles, but drivers earn that back quickly by using electricity instead of gasoline. The payback period varies by location and vehicle.

“Because the power grid in some areas of the country, like the northern Midwest, are still quite dirty — very coal heavy. And some, like the West Coast, are very clean,” Michalek said. “How long it takes to drive your electric vehicle to make up the manufacturing emissions is pretty short in California and much longer in Wisconsin.”

Higuera said he typically charges his EV at night when local utility rates are cheapest, which raises questions about the emissions associated with overnight power generation. Michalek said research shows that charging during off-peak, low-cost hours actually encourages utilities to build more of the cheapest generation sources, which also tend to be the cleanest.

“You actually create incentives to build a ton of wind and solar, possibly so much wind and solar that the net effect of charging your electric vehicle can be to reduce the total emissions from the power grid,” Michalek said.

The complexity reflects the intersection of the two largest U.S. greenhouse gas sources: transportation and electricity generation. After years of research, Michalek said he is comfortable making a broader statement about EVs.

“By and large, if you switch to an electric vehicle, there are lower emissions associated with it, even today, and they’ll only get cleaner as the grid gets cleaner,” Michalek said. “That wasn’t true when I started working on this, but now you pay more for the vehicle up front, you save money on fuel, and you can often make up the costs.”

A recent study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that electric vehicles are cost-competitive with gas-powered counterparts across most of the U.S. The study also found that EVs reduce emissions by 40 to 60 percent in most locations.

The analysis arrives as Americans keep vehicles longer. The average age of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads increased to 12.8 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The American Automobile Association said repair costs are often a major factor in replacement decisions.

Higuera said the research reinforced his purchase decision.

“Even though I’m just one person, I’m able to do something about it, which is as simple as just switching my vehicle,” Higuera said.