Ford EV Ranger Cost Analysis

Max Dunn — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:19:00 -0700

BlueSky Motors in Sacramento periodically sells EV Ford Rangers on eBay.

When I contacted them about the reserve price for a previous EV Ranger, here is what they said:

The reserve on the vehicle is $26,998 + License, Calif. sales tax, doc fee, and registration. The total cost with a PSC charger ($600.00) ends up close to $29,000. You can call for a test drive – (916) 929-7508 ask for Scott.

Paying almost $30,000 for a Ford Ranger seems pretty expensive – is there a way to justify this? One way is to think about the extra cost as just “pre-paying” for your gas.

The gas 1999 Ford Ranger gets a combined mileage of 16 MPG, so this is about $0.25 per mile at $4 per gallon. Assuming electricity will cost $0.05 per mile, you will save $0.20 per mile with the EV Ranger. (The EV Rangers NiMH batteries will likely last for the life of the car, or about 150,000 miles, so you don’t need to worry about battery replacement costs.)

So one way of looking at the extra $20,000 that this EV Ford Ranger costs is that you are just pre-paying for gasoline at $4 per gallon for the next 100,000 miles and after that, it is like getting free gas. And when gas goes up to $6 a gallon or more, this will seem like a real bargain!

Eschew Obfuscation: Ford EV Ranger Cost Analysis

Ford EV Ranger Cost Analysis