CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A survey finds the biggest concerns of people before they bought electric vehicles subsided once they actually made the purchase.
AAA's Molly Hart said a previous survey found the biggest concerns about electric car ownership were not enough places to charge and running out of power while on the road. Now, she said, "95 percent reported never running out of a charge while driving, and on average, charged their cars at home - 75 percent of their charging was done at home."
Hart said that while the average cost for fuel and maintenance is about $1,000 less a year for an electric car versus a gas-powered one, depreciation and finance costs actually make owning an electric car a little more expensive.
According to a WBBM Newsradio analysis of survey data, electric cars cost about $1,200 less a year to operate (fuel and maintenance) than a small gas-powered sedan.
The numbers indicate it costs about $8,319 a year to own and operate an electric vehicle versus $7,114 for a gas-powered car.
Spokesperson Molly Hart said people who bought electric cars like them.
"Our survey did show that three-quarters, 78 percent of the people who do have an electric vehicle, also have a gas-powered car in their household, yet what they’re saying is they do a majority of their driving in their electric vehicles," she said.
The AAA survey looked at small gas-powered sedans, including: Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elentra, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Corolla.
Electric cars that were part of the survey included the BMW i3, Chevrolet Bolt, Kia Soul, Nissan Leaf, and Volkswagen eGolf.