POWER LINES
EV ROAD TRIP Think an electric vehicle means you have to stick close to home? We put that to the test. BY JEFF McCALLISTER
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n 2010, the first year that plug-in electric vehicles were commercially available, 300 were sold. The following year, that number climbed to almost 18,000, and by 2019, plug-in EV sales totaled 327,000 — about 2% of light-duty automobile sales that year. There’s no question that electric vehicles’ popularity is on the rise. As drivers realize the advantages they present compared with gas-powered cars, and as those benefits become even more pronounced because of improving technology, it’s likely we’re going to see more and more of them on the road. Electric cooperatives across the nation are preparing for the increased EV market share — especially as automakers begin rolling out electric pickup trucks and medium SUV models that are more popular with rural drivers. Several Ohio co-ops have installed chargers at their offices, some offer rebates on home charging equipment, and all include calculators on their websites that help their members determine the potential savings if they switch to EVs from their current combustion model. Ohio Cooperative Living’s staff decided to put an EV to the test: How close are EVs to being able to fully replace internal combustion cars when it comes to family use?
4 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • JUNE 2021
