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Tell Congress: End Electric Vehicle Subsidies

We knew electric vehicles were expensive, but we didn't know just how much of that expense was the battery alone. Until now.

We knew electric vehicles were expensive, but we didn’t know just how much of that expense was the battery alone. Until now.

For years the auto industry has had a closely guarded secret: the price of electric vehicle batteries. They didn’t want you, the consumer to know how much they cost because they know that one day (if you purchase an electric car) you will have to pay to replace them.

Well Ford’s Chief Executive Alan Mulally let the cat out of the bag. 

While speaking at a forum on green technology last week, Mulally revealed that the battery packs for the electric Ford Focus costs between $12,000 and $15,000 a piece:

"When you move into an all-electric vehicle, the battery size moves up to around 23 kilowatt hours, [and] it weighs around 600 to 700 pounds," Mr. Mulally said at Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Green conference in California.

"They're around $12,000 to $15,000 [a battery]" for a type of car that normally sells for about $22,000, he continued, referring to the price of a gasoline-powered Focus. "So, you can see why the economics are what they are."

The Ford Focus EV costs $39,200. The Regular Ford Focus costs $22,000. Even with President Obama’s $7,500 taxpayer-funded electric vehicle subsidy, the EV will cost $31,700, roughly $10,000 more than the regular model (which gets between 35 and 40 miles to the gallon and does not eat up your electricity bill because it needs to be charged.)

One third of the cost of this vehicle is its battery. And at some point during the vehicle’s lifespan that battery will need to be replaced. That brings the total cost of the vehicle, with subsidy, to $46,700.
Gas would need to be, as President Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu put it, at the “levels in Europe” for a prolonged time (many, many years) for this car to eventually pay for the difference in price.

And yet President Obama and his Administration are trying to make us all buy these.

Electric vehicles are far more expensive than regular vehicles, do little to help the planet (since they’re charged by coal-powered electricity) and tend to catch fire.

It’s time we tell President Obama to stop pushing these vehicles, and stop giving taxpayer dollars to the wealthy people who buy them.

H.R.3768 is a bill in Congress that would eliminate the wealthy’s taxpayer giveaway. It is a perfect example of what needs to be done in our country. By eliminating subsidies like those for plug-in electric vehicles like the failed Chevy Volt and other expensive plug-ins, we send a message to President Obama that we are serious about cutting spending, and serious about ending the reliance on subsidies.

Sign the petition and send your message to your Representative deamanding they co-sponsor and support H.R.3768.

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