One advantage EV advocates push is that charging an electric vehicle is cheaper than filling it full of gas. Project Better Place just announced its pricing plan for the country of Denmark. How does almost $600 a month sound?
That’s for the top-tier pricing plan, which would give EV drivers about 40,000 kms of driving per-year as well as access to Better Place’s battery swapping stations. Better Place has partnered with Renault, whose vehicles will work with Better Place’s charging stations, which can deliver an 80% charge in under 30 minutes, or the swapping stations that give you a brand new battery in just “minutes.” That said, there are just a handful of these stations operational right now, and while I’m sure Better Place has huge plans, right now you’re talking about a very limited driving area.
And of course, none of this comes cheap, and on top of the $38,000 price tag for the Renault Fluence EV, pricing plans range from about $288 a month to nearly $600 a month, as well as a tone-time fee of around $1,800 for a home EV charging station. But wait…if you have a home station, why would you need a monthly subscription to Better Place?
Gas prices in Denmark are well over the $8 a gallon mark, making electric vehicles an attractive solution. So the $300 a month pricing plan might actually make sense for those who are using about 10 gallons of fuel a week. But with many European vehicles getting well over 50 mpg, filling up with petrol might still be the cheaper solution, especially when the Fluence EV itself is nearly $40,000.
I love electric vehicles, but if I was facing down those numbers, I think I’d rather suck it up and boy a scooter instead. How about you?
Source: Project Better Place
Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.