HOUSTON – Tuesday, the nationwide average price for a gallon of unleaded gas reached a new record high, according to GasBuddy.com.
The price of $4.104 eclipsed the previous high set in 2008 by 1/1000th of a penny, but it is not adjusted for inflation.
Any way you slice it, gas is expensive and it could make vehicles that do not require regular fill-ups more attractive, according to Bill Fulton, director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
“I think we are going to see more and more people switch to electric vehicles because of gas prices,” said Fulton.
However, Fulton does not expect rapid mass adoption of electric vehicles because of the spike in fuel prices. A sizeable percentage of the buying public still find upfront costs to an electric car too steep.
“Electric Vehicles are still quite expensive, probably beyond their means, so if they’re going to buy another car, it’s going to be gas-powered, even with the higher gas prices,” Fulton said.
Edmunds.com has compiled a list of the cheapest new electric cars available in the U.S. They each hover near the $30,000 mark before tax incentives.
The 2022 Nissan Leaf holds the title of the cheapest MSRP at $28,375 and is eligible for a $7,500 tax credit.
Lately, lower-end electric vehicles have been hard to find with brisk sales and tight supply.
Are all EV’s eligible for tax credits?
Tax credits with electric vehicles have become tougher to navigate in recent years because some manufacturers are no longer eligible to participate in the government program. Most notably, GM and Tesla can no longer offer attractive tax credit sweeteners because they’ve already sold so many electric vehicles.
Here’s a list of eligible tax credits if you’re looking to go electric.