(WWJ) A new study claims that Detroit is the absolute worst city in the country for owners of electric vehicles.
Roof Gnome, via personal finance firm Wallet Hub, issued a report on the Best Cities to Own an Electric Vehicle, with Detroit coming in dead last.
To come up with the ranking, Roof Gnome (which deals in solar panels) said it compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on EV incentives, infrastructure, costs and safety. More specifically, they factored in EV laws, electricity costs, charging station access, and even solar energy potential from viable roofs in each city, among 15 key metrics.
While study authors said Detroit actually has the infrastructure to support EVs, and the city does offer some EV incentives. However, relatively unaffordable electricity and insurance premiums — which tend to be higher for EVs — along with higher numbers of car thefts and a high rate of traffic fatalities dropped the city to the bottom of the list.
Also cracking the bottom five was the Detroit suburb of Warren.
Here are the top 10 best, and top 10 worst, as ranked by Wallet Hub:
Best Cities to Own an Electric Car
1. San Diego, CA
2. Houston, TX
3. Irvine, CA
4. New York, NY
5. Los Angeles, CA
6. Colorado Springs, CO
7. Fort Collins, CO
8. San Antonio, TX
9. San Francisco, CA
10. Chicago, IL
Worst Cities to Own an Electric Car
1. Detroit, MI
2. Newark, NJ
3. Hialeah, FL
4. Paterson, NJ
5. Warren, MI
6. Memphis, TN
7. Macon, GA
8. Shreveport, LA
9. Chattanooga, TN
10. Murfreesboro, TN
Learn more about the study, and the methodology behind it, at this link.
