Now's The Time To Buy An EV: Dealers Struggle To Clear Lots

Data from Cox Automotive shows that the price gap between gas-powered cars and EVs is as narrow as it's ever been, even without federal subsidies. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new electric vehicle is around $54,500, while the average for a gas-powered model sits just north of $49,000. Moreover, the trend is the latest in three months of declining EV prices.

Prices are down 2.8 percent, but the result of the downward trend is somewhat artificial. Federal tax subsidies for EVs ended last September, and for all intents and purposes, so did the consumer appetite for them. Now, automakers have replaced those incentives with their own. Cox data shows that the average incentive for a new EV hit 14.6% of its average transaction price (about $8,000 off). The incentive trend is a mirror image of the downward trend in prices, which shows everyone exactly what automakers and dealers are trying to do: move EVs off the lot now that demand has fallen off a cliff.

For buyers, that means it's a great time to look at new EVs. They're bucking the usual trend in ATP. Year after year, that figure rises. Automakers charge more for their vehicles to combat the cost of new features, inflation, and a million other data points. Consumers have to find a way to pay for that. With EV prices falling, it's a good time to start looking around for a deal. EVs are, of course, not drinking any of that expensive gasoline, either. While fuel and vehicle prices rise, the cost of EVs is falling, and charging them has always been cheap.

The trend is an optimistic-looking one for shoppers. New EVs aren't coming any time soon, as many automakers have pushed or postponed plans following the new federal stance on EVs. Used values are low, dealers are leaving cash on the hood, and gas cars are getting more expensive.