Explore Zero-Emissions Vehicles

What anyone driving an electric vehicle for the first time will notice isn't what's new, but what's instantly familiar. After all, the primary difference between electric vehicles and the traditional internal combustion engine-driven cars and trucks most people grew up with is the engine and how it's fueled.

Slip into the driver's seat of an EV and the steering and navigation setup will likely feel almost identical to what you're used to.

What you will notice driving an EV for the first time is the instant power (and if we're honest, instant gratification) that comes the second you touch the accelerator. (After all, an electric motor doesn't have to burn gas to then produce electricity to drive the engine like internal combustion vehicles do – it's there from the start).

What you'll also notice is how quiet EVs are to drive and how good it feels to be able to charge at home ­– if you can – or at a charging station versus fueling up at a gas station. And because it's about three times cheaper on average to fill up your car with electricity versus gas, you'll notice how much less you're spending on fuel.

Electric vehicles typically last more than 10 years, or 150,000-200,000 miles. This is much longer than the average lifespan of an internal-combustion vehicle, which is only about 133,000 miles.

The average upfront sticker price of electric vehicles is higher than the average sticker price of internal combustion vehicles for now. But upfront costs are only one part of the costs of ownership, and with the cheaper costs of energy and reduced maintenance costs, electric vehicles can win out on cost over the life of a vehicle.

Plus, with manufacturers adding more and more models each year and scaling up production quickly to meet growing consumer demand, costs are falling and the sticker price of electric vehicles could match the average cost of traditional vehicles as soon as this year.

All that too, before government incentives to help make electric vehicles accessible for more Americans.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides tax credits of up to $7,500 for the purchase of select models of new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 for select used electric vehicles.

The credit is designed to incentivize the purchase of vehicles built and featuring critical battery components sourced in the US or from favored partner nations. In practice that means that the list of models that qualify for partial or full tax credits is fairly short as of early 2023.

However, with manufacturers investing over $50 billion in US electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in the six months since the IRA passed and demand high, that list will likely grow in coming years.

Plus, numerous states offer incentives of their own to help make electric vehicles even more affordable.