As electric-vehicle ownership has increased in recent years, so too has the number of public charging stations. There are currently more than 50,000 locations across the United States. Still, they’re not always as easy to find as gas stations, especially if you’re in unfamiliar territory.
Our Find a Charger tool can help. Simply enter your location (by address, city or ZIP code) and it will return a list of the closest public charging stations. You can filter your results by charger type, connector type and network.
Most electric vehicle owners rely heavily on home chargers to reenergize their rides, making longer-distance travel a little tricky. Depending on how far you’re going, you will likely have to recharge your EV at least once. And because even the fastest chargers can take roughly 30 minutes, you may want to plan your stops around visits to these stations.
Our Plan a Trip tool has you covered. Plug in your starting location and destination to see a list and map of every public charging station along your route. You can filter the results by distance from your route, charger type, connector type and network.
Between the manufacturing process and the fossil fuel-generated electricity used to power them, electric vehicles are responsible for some greenhouse gas emissions. However, over a lifetime of use, they have been found to produce 50% fewer emissions than gas-powered cars.
The exact measure of emissions depends heavily on the make and model of the EV, the number of miles driven, as well as where you live (the percentage of electricity powered by fossils fuels compared to renewable sources varies throughout the country). The Emissions tool takes those factors and provides an estimate of the annual emissions of available EVs. You can also see emissions comparisons between an EV and a similar model gas-powered car.
Federal and local incentives can help reduce the financial cost of purchasing and owning an electric vehicle. These offers often add up to thousands of dollars in savings.
But the incentives available to individual consumers vary depending on a few factors, including the state in which you live, your electric company, the type of EV, whether it’s new or used, and if it’s being purchased or leased. Our Find Incentives resource helps sort through all the information. With just a few clicks, you can see the financial incentives available to you and an estimate of your potential savings.
Electric vehicles have many appealing benefits, but like any major purchase, the decision comes down to cost. EVs typically have a higher upfront cost than their gas-powered counterparts. However, much of that difference can be made up in the form of tax credits and rebates. Combined with the savings recouped at the gas pump, AAA research has shown that the lifetime cost of an EV is comparable to similar gas-powered cars.
Our Cost tool allows you to see the total cost of EV ownership over time, broken down into six categories: depreciation, insurance, finance charges, fees and taxes, maintenance and repair, and charging. You can adjust factors such as time frame and electricity costs to get a more accurate calculation. It also provides a total cost comparison between your EV of choice and a gas-powered vehicle.
AAA’s Recommendation: Whether you own an electric vehicle or a gas-powered car is up to you – and you should consider lots of factors in making that choice. No matter what type of vehicle you’re choosing, we recommend visiting a dealership, test driving one, and asking as many questions as possible to make an informed decision.
