Chevrolet hit a home run with the Equinox EV, providing perhaps the ultimate range per dollar value on the EV market. The FWD version offers a substantial 319 miles of EV range. With the new LT trim hitting dealers, the Equinox EV FWD starts at just $33,600 — before the potential federal tax credit.
Another crucial part of the Equinox EV value equation is the fuel savings from not paying for gas. Calculating that is trickier than rattling off an EPA number. How much does it cost to charge a Chevrolet Equinox EV? The short answer is that it depends on how, where, and when you charge.
How much does it cost to charge a Chevrolet Equinox EV?
There’s one basic way to fill up a combustion car: insert a nozzle from a fuel pump. The cost is more or less the same, with some variation between stations. There are many ways to charge the battery on a Chevrolet Equinox EV, with some methods proving markedly more expensive than others. But we can use some broad numbers to get a rough baseline of how much it costs to charge an Equinox EV.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV packs 85 kWh of usable battery capacity. The national average household electricity rate is currently 16.83 cents/kWh. Charging from empty to 100 percent would cost $14.31 at that rate. A more typical 10-80% charge would cost about $10.01.
How much does it cost to charge an Equinox EV at home?
Home electricity rates vary between states. Rates vary further within states; more densely populated areas tend to have cheaper electricity. Charging an Equinox EV at home on a Level 2 charger should be the most affordable option wherever an owner resides.
How affordable charging at home is depends heavily on location. In Louisiana, with an average rate of 11.93 cents/kWh, a 10-80% charge for an Equinox EV would cost $7.10. In Connecticut, with an average rate of 33.01 cents/kWh, the same 10-80% charge would cost $19.64. Local utility companies may offer reduced metered rates for off-peak EV charging.
For many buyers, a Chevrolet Equinox EV may be their first EV. So, it’s worth noting that the installation cost for a Level 2 home charger can erode some of the savings. A popular charger like the Chargepoint Home Flex can cost more than $500. Installation by a professional electrician can cost thousands of dollars.
Gallery: 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV 3RS Review
How much does charging an Equinox EV at a DC fast charger cost?
The Chevrolet Equinox EV is capable of 150 kW fast charging. A Level 3 DC fast charger will be the quickest, most convenient way to charge while on the road. But in most cases, it will also be a lot more expensive than charging at home — potentially more than twice the going rate for electricity during peak hours.
The Equinox EV can charge at Tesla Superchargers with a $225 adapter. Motortrend provides a rough estimate of 25-50 cents/kWh. At that rate, an Equinox EV owner would expect to pay between $14.87 and $29.75 for a full 10-80% charge. Tesla can also charge up to $1.00 per minute in idling and congestion fees.
That rate should be similar to other DC fast chargers. My closest fast charging option, an EVgo charger, averages a little above 50 cents/kWh with taxes and fees during peak daytime charging.
How much cheaper is charging an Equinox EV than a combustion car?
The Equinox EV is built on GM’s dedicated EV platform. So, there is not a true like-for-like analog in the combustion realm. But for a rough measure, we can use the the Chevy Equinox combustion crossover. According to the EPA, the Chevy Equinox FWD earns 28 mpg combined. It requires 3.6 gallons of fuel to travel 100 miles. The EPA estimates the Equinox EV FWD needs 31 kWh to travel 100 miles.
As of this writing, the national average price for a gallon of gas is $3.04. At that rate, driving an Equinox FWD 100 miles costs $10.94. At the national household electricity rate of 16.38 cents/kWh, it would cost $5.21 to drive an Equinox EV — less than half as much. But that price could jump to between $7.75 and $15.50 if charging an Equinox EV via DC fast charging, approaching or even exceeding the cost of gasoline.
