Four Midwestern states have joined forces to create a so-called Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour — a network of electric vehicle charging stations that will span 1,100 miles of shoreline and connect Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Governors have dubbed the multistate effort as an “electric Route 66” that will incentivize ecotourism in the region and encourage EV adoption in their respective states.
In a recent memo of understanding, officials said the route will include charging stations at key coastal communities and cities along the route, including Chicago in Illinois and Milwaukee and Green Bay in Wisconsin. Chargers will also be installed near resorts, state parks, lighthouses, and small businesses.
“Deploying and marketing publicly accessible electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), or charging infrastructure, will reduce range anxiety for prospective EV owners and promote EV adoption,” officials said in the memo.
But whether those incentives will be enough to justify high costs and outstanding concerns about charging infrastructure beyond the route itself remains to be seen.
“Every time we do research on what’s stopping consumers or giving consumers pause to buy electric vehicles, there’s three things that come up consistently in any research: price, range of the vehicle, and available infrastructure,” said Mark Schirmer, the director of communications at Cox Automotive.
The average transaction price for a new electric vehicle sits in the $60,000 range — roughly the price of a luxury vehicle, according to Kelley Blue Book.
“One thing that’s important to recognize is that with the current availability of EVs, a vast majority … are from luxury brands and prices [that] align with luxury prices,” he said.
A 2021 study from Electrek broke down the average cost in each state of owning a traditional internal combustion engine vehicle versus an electric vehicle.
Three of the four states included in the Lake Michigan plan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, all pay less in gas prices than the average U.S. consumer and can drive more miles per gallon in their gas-powered vehicles compared to the national average, according to the report. That could make some consumers less eager to trade in their models.
Another major deterrent is pricing, which has risen for many manufacturers due to the high cost of materials.
Ford said this week that it is increasing starting costs of its fully electric F-150 Lightning by up to $8,500 — citing a shortage of parts including batteries, raw materials, and semiconductor chips.
Tesla also announced a similar price increase earlier this month for the same reason. (The United States has lost roughly 794,100 vehicles to the microchip shortage so far this year, according to a July report from the group AutoForecastSolutions.)
Until the U.S. can develop a domestic critical minerals supply chain and build out more semiconductor foundries, consumers shouldn’t bank on seeing a drop in prices in the short term, analysts said.
Prices “continue to be pretty much the No. 1 hurdle” preventing drivers from switching to EVs, Schirmer said. “Because most people look at transaction price, the purchase price, and the long-term ownership costs — [ultimately], is it still a monthly payment that they have to make.”
To be sure, EV sales are on the rise in the U.S. for those who can afford them. Nearly 200,000 EVs were sold in the second quarter of 2022, according to a Cox Automotive report — up 66% from the previous year. And a recent national survey from AAA found that a quarter of U.S. consumers said they are likely to buy an electric vehicle for their next auto purchase. Of those who were likely to purchase an EV, 77% cited high gas costs as the top driver behind that decision.
“With this announcement, we are putting the country on notice that the Midwest is the place to be for clean energy and small business growth,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement announcing the plan. “The circuit will allow travelers to experience Lake Michigan and visit countless communities in and around the route. I am so proud that we came together to forge this bipartisan agreement. Let’s keep Michigan — and the Midwest — moving forward.”
Still, major obstacles remain for widespread adoption. Building out the necessary infrastructure for electric cars remains “a big hurdle” for drivers in many parts of the U.S., Schirmer said. “If you don’t see a lot of charging stations, you have trouble believing in the viability of owning an EV.”
Many Midwestern state economies are also dominated by farming, agriculture, and manufacturing — industries in which having a truck might be more of a necessity than a choice.
And among those hoping to purchase an electric truck, competition is stiff: Ford, for its part, temporarily had to stop taking orders for its Lightning pickup because it could not meet the surge in demand.
Even in states like California, which has the percentage highest EV percentage in the country, charging stations can be hard to come by unless you’re traveling along a major route, he added. “And I do think that that is the case in major cities. It’s a lot of the connecting routes that make long-distance travel viable. That’s what doesn’t exist.”
