ELECTRIC TRUCKS AREN’T EXACTLY CHEAP TO RECHARGE

Current gas prices have caused many not to want to drive more than they have to, and when some of us bring up the ridiculous gas prices, people may tell us to “Just buy an EV.” But that doesn’t fix the problem. As shown by Car and Driver testing, an EV can be expensive to replenish the battery, especially when it’s the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 which has a massive 212.7 kWh battery.

GMC Hummer EV: Fast Charging Cost Details

After plugging the Hummer EV into an Electrify America station, to bring it from 10 percent charge to 90 percent charge. It was discovered that at current rates of $0.43 per kWh, adding an 80 percent charge costs $81, including sales tax. That means that if someone were to recharge their Hummer from 0 percent to 100 percent at a DC fast-charging station, it would likely cost them over $100.

At the fast-charging station, the Hummer hit an impressive 287 kW peak charge rate, but the average between 10 and 90 percent state of charge was around 98 kW. That’s partially due to the immense size of the battery pack, but in total, it took an hour and forty-nine minutes to add the 80 percent charge.

If you do the math yourself, you may find that by multiplying the Hummer EV’s total battery capacity of 212.7 kWh by $0.43; you won’t come to $100. But there are charging losses that need to be accounted for and the 80 percent fill that was recorded saw a five percent loss. The filling took 177.9 kWh, though 80 percent of the total capacity is 170.2 kWh. That, and the session in Michigan added a 6 percent sales tax. Then again, if you can afford to drive a $112,000 electric truck that can do almost anything, what’s $100 to charge it up?

Charging costs can vary by state and by charging provider, as well as time of day. But the point remains that even if you buy an EV – which are thousands more than an a comparable engine-powered equivalent – to save money, you’re not entirely in the clear. As Sowell once stated: “there are no solutions, there are only trade-offs.”