A New Chevy Equinox EV For $32,000?

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Last Updated on: 1st August 2025, 11:23 am

After finding online information about a new Nissan Ariya for $31,000 before incentives, I wondered about the availability of other new electric vehicles that are affordable. This wondering was prompted by someone telling me that electric vehicles cost $187,000. Of course they don’t, and the statement is one the anti-EV Donald Trump might have made. It could also be disinformation found on social media or broadcast on Fox News, which isn’t journalism.

So, in less than 5 minutes I found a new Chevy Equinox EV LT for $32,000, also before incentives. With incentives it might be about $25,000–$28,000. The Chevy Equinox EV has been well-reviewed and was a CleanTechnicaCar of the Year. I have not driven one, but Paul Fosse has. His review was also positive.

Personally, the Equinox EV appears to be more appealing than the Ariya because it may be more rugged. Additionally this particular Equinox EV has an estimated range of over 300 miles per charge. Also of note is the fuel savings estimator on the Equinox EV webpage.

It states that over 5 years, the estimated savings could be about $10,000, because electricity is cheaper than gasoline. Of course, the fuel savings will depend on many variables and it might not be exactly $10,000 per driver over 5 years or about $2,000 per year.

What is not estimated is the other potential savings over buying a gas-powered one. The EV will not need oil changes and many other internal combustion engine parts that need to be maintained and repaired. How much is the cost of replacing a catalytic converter, fuel injectors, muffler, etc.? How much is the cost of a smog test and how often do those have to be completed?

So, it is possible for the total cost of ownership the Equinox EV winds up costing less than a gas Equinox. In a best case scenario,  the Equinox EV might be about $27,000 with CA incentives or about $25,000 with the soon to expire federal incentive. If the Equinox EV did save $10,000 in five years of fuel savings it would effectively cost much less than $20,000 in total. What if driving it saved an average of $1500 per year for 9 years?  The fuel savings would be $13,500 and there would be savings from not doing the typical gas vehicle repairs and maintenance.

There is another scenario in which the owner has their own home solar power and charges it with that, thereby saving even more. Gas and diesel vehicle owners can’t generate their own gasoline and diesel fuel. They must buy it and gas and diesel fuel prices increase over time. This Chevy Equinox EV seems to be a rather good deal at $32,000 before incentives, fuel savings, and potential maintenance and repair savings.

It also helps to avoid the cost of toxic air pollution from burning gas or diesel fuel. It helps to avoid an indirect cost of oil spill disasters such as Deepwater Horizon, which costs tens of billions of dollars to clean up, efforts which still may not be complete.

The Chevy Equinox EV is in California where harmful air pollution causes asthma hospitalizations. “Every year more than 40,000 Californians are hospitalized because of asthma and African Americans are at greater risk for hospitalization and death compared to other racial groups.”

Some of those hospitalizations are linked to combustion of fossil fuels in internal combustion engine vehicles. There are financial costs for these hospitalizations that are not reflected in the cost to buy a gas or diesel-powered vehicle. The Chevy Equinox EV doesn’t directly generate any toxic emissions.

The costs of asthma in California are billions of dollars per year. Many children and teens in California have asthma, it’s not only adults who need to be hospitalized each year. Gas and diesel-powered vehicles contribute to those asthma cases. The true costs of a gas or diesel-powered vehicle, considering the full accounting of human health costs and environmental costs, would put the price of a gas or diesel vehicle well beyond that of a Chevy Equinox EV.

Thank you to the person who tried to tell me that electric vehicles cost $187,000 while seeming to have no knowledge of electric vehicles nor the full costs of gas and diesel vehicles.