C-Max Energi Plug-in Costs Less than Hybrid, After Incentives

[darrelld]

http://www.plugincars.com/c-max-energi-plug-costs-less-hybrid-after-incentives-126244.html

 

 

C-Max Energi Plug-in Costs Less than Hybrid, After Incentives

By Brad Berman · January 28, 2013

Here’s a new twist on the price premium argument against buying a car that plugs into the grid. Ford priced the plug-in version of the C-Max so close to the conventional hybrid version that—after considering federal and state incentives, as well as trim packages—shoppers can drive away with the plug-in at virtually the same price.

As usually, the devil is in the details. With three different add-on premium packages available for the C-Max Hybrid, shoppers with sharp pencils might make a different argument. But considering that a loaded C-Max Hybrid SEL tops out at $30,000, and the base price of the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid is $33,745, the difference in the price of admission for the two vehicles is less than $4,000.

When you subtract a federal tax credit of $3,750 for the Energi, and a $1,500 cash rebate from California, you actually come ahead from Day One with the plug-in model. Every day after that, especially for drivers with commutes within the 21-mile EV range of the Energi, the cost of electric fuel is less than half the cost of gasoline. Also, the estimated efficiency jumps from 47 MPG in the hybrid, to 100 MPGe in the plug-in. (For now, let's leave aside higher resale value, or external benefits like reduced emissions.)

 

[Tdefny]

That's one reason I prefered the Energi over the SEL. Of course an SE with an actual key has its lure too.

[zhackwyatt]

I agree, I'm not sure there is much of a reason not to get the Energi unless you want the cargo space which I did, or are opposed to this type of government incentive which I am but I don't leave free money sitting around either ;)

[darrelld]

I agree, I'm not sure there is much of a reason not to get the Energi unless you want the cargo space which I did, or are opposed to this type of government incentive which I am but I don't leave free money sitting around either ;)

 

I mentioned this before but concerns over battery cooling during charging in my 100+ garage during July-Sept gave me concern. My Passat TDI is our road trip car so cargo space wasn't an issue.

 

Plan to lurk in the C-Max Energi forums for Arizona and Texas owners and their experiences with summer charging.

 

Can always upgrade later. :)

Edited January 30, 2013 by darrelld

[zhackwyatt]

Hey all, I slapped this together from a page by Darren Popham.

 

http://gocalipso.com/2013/02/plugin-hybrid-energy-cost-comparison-calculator.php#post

 

Let me know what ya'll think?  If any of the values are wrong or anything.  It doesn't look all that great either, but I had to smash it into the rest of the sites template.

 

(The rest of the site is really old and stale, sorry, I'm slow haven't really maintained it.)

[plus 3 golfer]

What I find is that most times these simplified approaches comparing vehicles do not work for me.  This one gives a ranking based on fuel costs only.  I always construct my own spreadsheets.

 

There are many other expenses in the cost of ownership that should be taken into account.  For example, in AZ the annual registration cost is based on the original price of a vehicle.  This can easily add a $100+ a year to the Volt over the C-Max Hybrid.   Annual insurance premiums likely vary by vehicle.  Ones cost of capital (or financing) should be taken into account since the initial cost of the vehicles vary. The sales tax on the purchase price will differ.  How about resale value (depreciation), look at what one can get a used Leaf for especially in Phoenix.  

 

Based on my expected operation of my C-Max SEL vs the Energi, I could not justify the $2k+ premium (X-plan pricing, after tax credit, cash incentives, registration, sales tax and so forth) of the Energi over the Hybrid.  The biggest issue with the Energi for me was range.  We have no "daily commute" and many times make two trips a day.  So, range (and ability to recharge) affect my cost.  In addition, we'll make at least one long trip a year (4160 miles RT) and likely many shorter trips of another 4000 miles.  So, the mileage penalty of the nearly 300 pound weight difference of the Energi over the Hybrid on long trips quickly eats into any short trip mileage benefits of electric only use even at $0.085 / kWh off-peak.

 

So, I beg to differ with the title of the thread:  C-Max Energi Plug-in Costs Less than Hybrid, After Incentives. :)  

[yark99]

Besides, it's all moot if you're not in a major city and your dealer isn't authorized to sell the Energi. Time and cost lost on tune-up pilgrimages would change the equation really fast.

[darrelld]

The article was based on initial purchase price not TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). If you are looking for a vehicle with low TCO and nothing else then buy a base model VW Golf and get free maintenance for 3 years. :)

[plus 3 golfer]

Besides, it's all moot if you're not in a major city and your dealer isn't authorized to sell the Energi. Time and cost lost on tune-up pilgrimages would change the equation really fast.

Yes, same thing applies when one has an issue with the energi on a road trip and there are plenty of Ford dealers near but none authorized to repair the energi as they have no training and likely any special equipment for the energi.

 

 

 

 

[plus 3 golfer]

The article was based on initial purchase price not TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). If you are looking for a vehicle with low TCO and nothing else then buy a base model VW Golf and get free maintenance for 3 years. :)

Yes, and as I pointed out in AZ the out the door price for the energi is higher than the hybrid. The title of the article is very misleading and might apply in some states that offer state tax credits and no sales tax and a fixed registration fee. But in AZ and likely many other states the energi over the hybrid will not be cheaper out the door and then the enegi only makes sense if its TCO is lower than the hybrid.

 

 

[Tdefny]

I would have been very happy with a Hybrid C-max. As noted above, there are downsides to the Energi and I doubt that a plugin ever makes sense over a hybrid version of the same car on dollars alone, so a plug-in won't be the right choice for most people until they can deliver more EV range and there are many more charging stations. This especially true on Long Island, where there are few charging stations and electric rates are among the highest in the country.

 

Some of the other factors that influenced me were:

- Lower tailpipe emissions when the ICE is running. The Energi is AT-PZEV and the Hybrid is not.

- Lower overall emissions because our electricity comes from a cleaner source than gasoline.

- Reduced dependance on foreign energy. Power on Long Island is mostly from natural gas and some hydro-electric.

- Access to the carpool lane.

- An alternate fuel if gas lines should ever return. Too bad that the recent episode after Sandy also came with a long period of no power for many people.

- Support an emerging technology.

- The ability to do local errands without running the engine. Small trips are when the engine runs least efficiently because the engine never quite warms up.

- The possibility of being completely carbon free for most of my commute if I ever install a photovoltaic system (these also take a long time to break even).

- Potential for educed maintenance costs although that may be offset by unforeseen additional costs from a more complex vehicle.

- Driving an electric vehicle is cool (unfortunately this can be quite literal in the winter when turning on the heat reduces range to the point that you may not reach your destination on all electric if you do).

 

There may be other advantages that that I haven't thought of or that might mean something to someone else. Preferred parking at an EV charging station might be one, but that means little in my neck of the woods where charging stations are rare and should probably be left free for full EVs.

 

Many of the above advantages come at some cost, but I have to say that the Energi has exceeded my expectations so far. Of course I haven't brought the car back to the dealer yet,so that may change.

[plus 3 golfer]

Tdefny, good points.

 

Since you brought up PV, I did look at putting in a PV system on my new home, buying an Energi, and recharging with some of the excess off-peak energy that the utility would buy back at wholesale rates.  I had a PV system on my previous home (moved in Aug. last year) and after utility purchase of RECs at 50% of installed cost, Fed. tax credit of 30%, and state credit of $1000, my simple payback was 3.5 years.  I had plenty of actual hourly data from my previous system to do detailed studies on the benefits of PV for my new home. Unfortunately, the simple PV payback for my new home was about 11 years (without the Energi load) primarily because utility incentives now are almost non-existent and the new utility's rate structures aren't as favorable to PV as my old utility.  But maybe the Energy load would help in justifying a PV system and the purchase of the Energi. My analysis showed I could effectively reduce my recharge costs with the PV (from 8.5 cents / kWh to 5.3 cents / kWh).  

 

So, by adding the Energi off-peak load to my normal home use I could save an additional $65 per year off my electric bill with a PV system assuming about 2000 kWh of charging per year. Applying this savings to the Energi made the payback acceptable but applying this to a $12,000 leased solar system had little effect on the PV system payback.  So hence, as of now, no solar on my new home.  So, again the Energi range was a limiting factor in the savings I could achieve.

[yark99]

Tdefny: I agree. The PHEV is a transition technology and I would have supported it if we had the opportunity to buy the Energi. Although my electricity source is presently coal and nuclear-- both of which have environmental black marks-- the ability to build up a different energy structure is attractive. If we want to be able to choose an energy future, for whatever reason (energy security or environment), we need to have more choice about the sources (renewables plus other ideas on the table) and in order to do that we need a more flexible carrier (electricity & maybe hydrogen). And good points about using the EV for the poor-mpg trips.

[Tdefny]

The good news is that the next generation of battery is very close, so the whole equation will be different the next time we are ready for a new car. The whole spectrum of electrified vehicles will make even more sense.

 

Would you have considered the Energi if it had ttriple the EV range or the same range, but the battery the size of the one in the hybrid? How about the hybrid with a smaller battery that leaves slace for a spare tire. I can't wait to see what will evolve.