Trying to make smart vehicle purchase decisions? The Sustainable Transportation Coalition of Hawaii (STCH) uses Argonne National Laboratory’s AFLEET tool to create a total cost of ownership comparison for gas- or diesel-powered vehicles, electric vehicles (EV), and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model.
Below you’ll find some example comparisons to give you an idea of the cost to purchase and operate standard fleet vehicles on a typical vehicle cycle. See assumptions behind the calculations here. To compare two vehicles that aren’t in the table below, please contact the STCH Coordinator who will create unique cost comparisons to fit your own fleet operations! This service is being offered at no cost to support informed purchasing decisions, and you’re highly encouraged to give it a try!
Summary of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Analysis. Each gas-powered vehicle listed in the table below is compared to two vehicles: the 2020 Nissan Leaf (MSRP), and the 2020 Prius Prime PHEV (MSRP)
The $7,500 federal tax credit has been applied to the Nissan Leaf, and a $4,502 federal tax credit has been applied to the Prius Prime. Public agencies have been able to access these tax credits in certain cases when procurement offices have specified this requirement in the bid process.
Main Takeaways: In almost all cases below, EVs compared favorably to their gasoline sedan counterparts. When compared to gas powered trucks, they fared much better.
Emissions were not included in this analysis as this information is not currently accurate for Hawaiʻi. However, had the cost of emissions (externalities) been included, gasoline vehicles would have a much higher cost of ownership in all cases. We hope to bring this information to you in Phase 2 of this project. It should also be noted that this TCO analysis is a snapshot in time, and the price of batteries for EVs continues to drop rapidly.
The above discussion highlights the need to look closely at EVs as a favorable alternative to gasoline vehicles for costs—to the owner and to society.
| Vehicle | Costs & Assumptions |
|---|---|
| Chevy Malibu | Total Cost of Ownership |
| Toyota Prius | Total Cost of Ownership |
| Toyota Sienna | Total Cost of Ownership |
| Ford F-150 | Total Cost of Ownership |
| Nissan Frontier | Total Cost of Ownership |
| Ford F-350 | Total Cost of ownership |
