No pain at this pump: High gas prices help make case for electric vehicles

INDIANAPOLIS — Gas prices, which were already high before the most recent spike, continue to rise and are helping to make the case for electric vehicles.

According to experts, fewer oil refineries are making crude oil into gasoline. Refineries are instead choosing to produce diesel and jet fuel which are more profitable products.

“With the market currently really tight both in diesel and jet fuel, we’re actually seeing refineries choose to make less gasoline in favor of those more profitable molecules,” Matt Kimmel, a senior research analyst for refining and oil markets at Wood Mackenzie, said.

The continually rising gas prices along with the political stalemate happening at the state and federal level, leaves drivers forced to pay for a commodity they need, no matter how high the price goes. However, there is an alternative out there.

"I'll never go back to gas," Terri Schultz said.

WRTV talked to her at a Tesla Supercharger Station Tuesday afternoon. Schultz, who commutes to Bloomington from Indianapolis for work, was charging her car while avoiding the stop-and-go traffic.

"I can sit here, charge my car and miss all the rush hour traffic," Schultz said.

Despite being on board with electric vehicles now, Schultz admits she wasn't convinced at first.

"When my husband bought his I was like 'Oh my gosh, at least we have my gas vehicle. I can rescue you when you need rescued,' but that never happened," she said. "I used to worry that I would run out of charge and be stranded, but the computer system that is own board doesn't allow that to happen."

According to the Zero Emission Transportation Association, it's now at least three to six times cheaper to drive an electric car over a gas-powered one because of the spike in gas prices. That paper came out in March.

Gas has increased by more than a dollar, on average, since then.

Many people, however, are still skeptical or don't know for sure if they want to commit to buying an electric vehicle. That's where startups like MOTOR come into play.

"It's really important to MOTOR that we have a product that is available to anyone. It's not just a luxury product. It's not just this thing that you need to have a bunch of money to get," Rhett Barker, Motor's Indiana market lead, said.

Barker said MOTOR offers a month-to-month option to let people try out electric vehicles, EVs for short. He stresses that there are more options out there than getting a Tesla.

"Whenever anyone mentions electric vehicles, people always assume Tesla, but there are so many options," he said. "You have Nissan Leaf, the Ford Mach-E, the Volkswagen ID 4 Pro. Those are all great options out there and they're very familiar to people because the inside is generally like the gas-powered cars."

Motor

Barker said it's important to know their plans include everything: monthly payments; down payment; title, licensing and registration fees, delivery, insurance, roadside assistance, and maintenance.

"I'm convinced that if we can get someone behind the wheel of an electric vehicle, they'll be sold on it and want to try it out," Barker said.