A company that operates a fleet of more than 20,000 electric cars, including the Chevy Bolt, the Toyota Prius Plug-in and a fleet that includes the Honda Civic Plug-In electric car, moved the service from gas to electric in 2015.
Honda now offers a two-hour drive to any of its electric vehicles, which typically take about six minutes.
A new service called Smart Move also is offering a two hour drive.
The company’s new service is a “game changer” for consumers, said Robert A. Shilhavy, president of The Mobility Research Group, a San Francisco-based consulting firm that advises automakers on how to expand their electric car fleet.
“It’s a great way to get people to buy electric vehicles,” Shilhiyavy said.
Shilhavys research shows that the average U.S. car owner spends $5,600 annually on fuel and maintenance costs for an electric vehicle.
But that number can vary by state, with some states paying for only about half of the cost of a car.
With Smart Move, Shilhwys research found that about 85% of customers in California, the state that includes Los Angeles County, would see savings from the move.
California’s average annual fuel and oil costs are about $8,500, compared with about $3,600 in New Jersey and $1,600 for Pennsylvania, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
Even if customers spend just a few hours to get from one state to the next, the savings are significant, said Richard Pyle, a senior vice president at the U.K.-based consultancy CarReturn.
In 2018, the average cost of an electric car in California was about $9,600.
That’s more than twice the cost in the New Jersey state of New York, where consumers pay just $1.30 for a gas-powered vehicle.
The move to electric means the cost to consumers could drop by as much as 60% or more.
Smart Move’s move is just one example of how the auto industry is working to bring electric cars to consumers in the U, Shildes said.
The company said it expects to add at least 40,000 vehicles to its fleet by 2020.