About Electric Vehicles
Benefits
1. Savings
• Charging at home is like paying $1.95/gallon for gasoline.*
• Gasoline cars have thousands more parts to maintain than EVs.
2. Convenience
• Charge at home or work. Never visit a gas station again.
• Fewer service appointments
3. Safety
• Less rollover risk
• No gasoline and no fumes
• Better traction in winter
• Safely merge into traffic with confidence
4. Performance
• Stable cornering
• Accelerate without hesitation
5. Comfort
• Quiet ride
• Cabin warms without waiting for the engine to warm up.
Two Types of Electric Vehicles
1. All-electric vehicles (aka battery electric vehicles or BEVs) run solely on electricity stored in a battery.
2. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. They have both a gas tank and a battery. Unlike hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), PHEVs can be plugged in to charge. PHEVs are not eligible for Efficiency Maine EV rebates.
Range
The average range of new all-electric vehicles is about 300 miles on a fully charged battery. Several vehicle models are rated for over 400 miles of range.**
Most plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have less than 100 miles of electric range, plus 300-400 miles of gasoline range.
* A 2026 Tesla Model Y (27kWh/100-mile) using $.24/kwh electricity would cost the same per mile as a 2025 Toyota RAV4 (30-mpg) using $1.95/gallon gasoline.
** Coltura as of 4/7/2026
Financial Examples
With our current rebates for moderate-income individuals, both new and used EVs can cost less than a comparable gasoline vehicle. See comparison below.
Note: Situations may differ. See footnotes for assumptions.
Used
| EV (2023 Hyundai Kona Electric) |
Gasoline (2023 Hyundai Kona) |
|
|---|---|---|
| EPA Range (miles) | 258 | ~400 |
| Price | $18,169 1 | $19,996 1 |
| Efficiency Maine Rebate (moderate income) | $3,000 | N/A |
| Net Price | $15,169 | $19,996 |
| Monthly Payment 3 | $258 | $340 |
| Monthly Fuel 4 | $91 | $116 |
| Monthly Maintenance 5 | $121 | $146 |
| Net Monthly Cost 6 | $470/month | $603/month |
| Net Annual Cost 6 | $5,650/year | $7,237/year |
New
| EV (2026 Nissan Leaf) |
Gasoline (2026 Nissan Kicks) |
|
|---|---|---|
| EPA Range (miles) | 301 | ~400 |
| Price | $29,990 2 | $22,430 2 |
| Efficiency Maine Rebate (moderate income) | $6,000 | N/A |
| Net Price | $23,990 | $22,430 |
| Monthly Payment 3 | $409 | $382 |
| Monthly Fuel 4 | $91 | $120 |
| Monthly Maintenance 5 | $121 | $146 |
| Net Monthly Cost 6 | $621/month | $648/month |
| Net Annual Cost 6 | $7,456/year | $7,780/year |
1 Average price as of 3/4/2026, Cargurus
2 nissanusa.com as of 3/4/2026
3 $0 down, 7% APR, 72 month loan term
4 Assuming 15,000 miles / year. Assuming a 2022 Hyundai Kona EV (28kWh/100-mile) using $0.26/kWh electricity; a 2022 Hyundai Kona (32-mpg) using $3.00/gallon gasoline; a 2026 Nissan Leaf (28kWh/100-mile) using $0.26/kWh electricity; and a 2026 Nissan Kicks (31-mpg) using $3.00/gallon gasoline.
5 Average for top-selling compact SUVs, AAA as of September 2025
6 After fuel and service