electric cars in north Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — As the winter season approaches, topics of the right car for the right situation often come up. And while the winter storms alone are evidence to many that oil and gas vehicles are the way to go, recent studies might imply that it could be worth swapping over to EVs in the future.

With how negative the pushback seems to be towards EVs in the state, it might surprise you to know that North Dakota is actually the 14th best state for electric vehicles as a whole. A study performed by car buying and selling website Bumper.com weighed the different factors involved in the financial and structural aspects of electric vehicles — and revealed that when it comes to ND, there are plenty of incentives for the state and individuals to consider making the change.

There are, however, a few positives to be seen when it comes to electric vehicles in our state. For one thing, the cost of charging here averages out to be significantly cheaper than gas. ND ranks 14th of all the states in having the lowest electricity cost when compared to gas, with an average difference of $124.41 for every 1,000 miles driven.

In fact, if one only considers current registered electric cars in each state, it turns out North Dakota receives the most money per electric car from EV charging network allocations — a whopping $10,108.82 per vehicle — whereas states like California, Washington, and Hawaii get the least. Here, it’s simply a case of positive reinforcement: the states that need more support to help promote EV ownership, as well as continue to build the infrastructure needed to sustain it throughout communities. It’s not just the cars, either — ND also ranks 4th in allocations for each driver, at a total of $7.13 for every license holder.

In total, North Dakota was the 4th state overall with the largest incentives to adopt electric vehicles. Financial incentives in the study were ranked by six main metrics:

• Changes in the average gas price from August 2021 to August 2022
• 5-year change in recharge cost per 1,000 miles
• Cost difference to drive 1,000 miles by EV versus gas-powered card
• Percent of workers commuting more than 30 minutes to work
• Current number of non-expired state financial incentives to switch to electric vehicles
• Average current transaction price of a new electric vehicle relative to state median income

Finances are one thing, but does North Dakota have the equipment to support a growing EV industry? According to Bumper’s study, yes. Even in terms of infrastructure, though, it’s not like electric vehicles in ND are lacking in support. Bumper noted the state has the 11th highest infrastructure in the nation when ranked by the following five metrics:

• Number of public charging stations ber state-licensed drivers
• Number of public EVSE ports per 100 EV registrations
• State annual growth of electric charging stations since 2018
• EV registrations per 1,000 motor vehicle registrations
• 2022 state allocations for the EVCN per licensed driver

While these vehicles are still costly, North Dakota also fares surprisingly well when it comes to comparing the price relative to the median income. ND ranks 19th in this comparison, with the typical cost of a car being 102.58% of the median income — enough to beat out northeastern states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

Although the electric vehicle industry in North Dakota does face a cold reception, it would seem that there’s an unexpectedly brighter side to the industry — at least, in the fuel savings and allocations the state receives for electric cars. The more these cars are brought to North Dakota roads, the smaller these numbers become, but the bigger they are, the more enticing it is to put EVs on the road. Perhaps there’s a way to meet in the middle?

The full study on electric vehicles throughout the USA is available on Bumper’s website.