WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Electric vehicle sales have been rising for several years and the demand is growing even faster as gas prices skyrocket.
Rachel Fink just traded in her old car for a Volkswagen ID.4.
“It’s just the convenience, you don’t have to go in for maintenance anymore. I just really like the way that it drives,” said Fink.
She said the best part about having an electric vehicle is that she doesn't have to worry about rising gas prices.
“I’ve been hearing a bunch of my friends talking about 'oh my God gas prices have gone up so much.' I haven’t really noticed because I never have to stop and get gas,” Fink said.
Scott Fink the owner of Volkswagen of Wesley Chapel tells ABC Action News he started seeing more interest in electrified vehicles — which include hybrids and plug-in hybrids over the last year.
“There's not enough product to meet current consumer demand and growing consumer demand,” he said.
Given the uncertainty of the Ukraine invasion, he expects the demand to increase.
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“I got two text messages last night from friends saying, ‘hey what's the availability of electric vehicles?’ So, the demand is absolutely increasing,” Fink said.
However, dealers say getting your hands on an electric vehicle can take between four to six months because of extremely low inventory due to supply chain issues.
“If it’s something that you’re interested in, you should find the vehicle that you’re interested in and you should go to the website and notify the local dealer and get your name on that list because the wait is long,” Fink said.
Sales of used electric vehicles are also picking up. We did some digging and found in 2021 Carvana saw a significant increase in adoption of used EVs by 43% year-over-year.
According to data from Autopacific Research, drivers are considering EVs for the increased performance they can deliver, to fight climate change and the number one reason is lower energy costs.
There are obstacles keeping some drivers away from EVs, including range and charging times.
“How many miles can I drive? Do I have a place to put a charger? How do I charge? There’s a term called range anxiety. We don’t get range anxiety with gas because there’s a gas station every mile,” he said.
Industry data shows an electric vehicle costs at least $4,000 more than a comparable, gas-powered model. Fink said before you go electric, analyze your lifestyle first.
“Know where the local charging stations are and then put a plan together before you purchase, so you know how you’re going to manage that part of your life,” he said.
