Even as battery costs are rising, car companies are launching more affordable electric vehicles, which should broaden their appeal to more buyers.
GM’s latest offering on Thursday is the Chevrolet Equinox small SUV, which starts at about $30,000 and offers a range of 250 miles (400 kilometers) per charge. If you pay more, you can get 300 miles (500 kilometers) of range.
GM won’t announce the exact price of the Equinox EV until closer to its on-sale date, which is around this time next year. But the SUV is on the low end of Edmunds.com’s list of U.S. EV sales prices, where the average EV costs about $65,000.
Industry analysts say setting prices around $30,000 and a range of nearly 300 miles per charge is key to getting mainstream buyers away from gasoline vehicles.
“You’re in this sweet spot,” said Ivan Drury, insight director at Edmonds.com. “You’re basically at a price point that everyone craves.”
If the Equinox can use interior space efficiently, with ample cargo and passenger space, and if it’s styled similarly to current gasoline-powered small SUVs, it should be a big hit in the most popular segment of the U.S. auto market, auto industry analysts say popular. About 20 percent of all new cars sold in the U.S. are small SUVs.
“It’s the perfect car for a lot of different users, whether it’s a small family or an empty nester,” said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting for Detroit-area consulting firm LMC Automotive. “You have room to drag things, but it’s easy to drive.”
All-in-all $30,000 EVs cost just a little more than a similar small gasoline-powered SUV. The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling model in the segment and the best-selling non-pickup in the U.S., starting at just over $28,000.
Over the past few years, electric vehicles have either been expensive and aimed at wealthy luxury buyers, or cheaper but with limited range. For example, the base, lowest-priced model of Tesla’s Model 3, the best-selling electric vehicle brand in the U.S., starts at more than $48,000. A larger Tesla Model X SUV starts at more than $120,000.
The only EVs starting at less than $30,000 (including shipping) right now are the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt. Both are smaller than the typical gasoline-powered compact SUV. The Mini Cooper EV, Mazda MX30 and Hyundai Kona EV are all priced around $30,000, according to Edmunds.
