China a huge winner.
The price of gasoline has spiked amid a U.S.-led war with Iran. It’s not uncommon for the fossil fuel economy to be disrupted by geopolitical conflicts, but now consumers have more options than ever to protect themselves from price hikes.
EVs are already putting a dent into oil consumption worldwide, and as gas prices climb higher, the simple efficiency of an EV could become all the more appealing. In all 50 states, the cost of home-charging an EV is considerably cheaper than fueling a car with gasoline.
The map above shows the cost of charging an EV at home. The price is expressed in “eGallons,” which is the cost of charging an EV by an amount equivalent to one gallon of gasoline.
I wrote about the math behind the eGallon and plotted a similar map of prices in early 2024, when gas was relatively cheap. And even then, EVs were much more economical to drive. But now, consumers have even more incentive to make the switch.
Even in the worst-case scenario where an EV is charged on a coal-heavy grid, an EV is still more efficient than a gasoline-burning car.
EVs are radically simpler than Internal Combustion (ICE) vehicles, with way fewer parts.
Sales of used electric vehicles are surging in the US as models bought during a post-pandemic boom flood back on to the market, offering prospective buyers relief from a sharp rise in petrol prices.
First-quarter used EV sales rose 12 per cent compared with the same period last year and 17 per cent on the previous quarter, according to Cox Automotive estimates. Sales of new EVs in the first quarter are estimated to have slumped by 28 per cent year on year following the Trump administration’s withdrawal in 2025 of a $7,500 consumer tax credit.
Analysts attribute the surge to a glut of hundreds of thousands of cheap pre-owned EVs that were purchased on leases in the early 2020s and which are now returning to market as those leases expire. According to credit bureau Experian, EVs will account for 15 per cent of all off-lease vehicles at the end of this year, up from 7.7 per cent in the first quarter.
The supply glut helped drive the average price of a used EV down by 8.5 per cent between February 2025 and February 2026, according to Cox, closing the average price gap between used EVs and used petrol-powered vehicles from $4,923 to $1,334.
“We’re seeing a meaningful reset in EV pricing,” said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox’s director of industry insights.
