Lyme Electric Vehicle Buying Resource
Update – May 2021

compiled by Lyme neighbor Harry Higgs

I have updated the Electric Vehicle Buying Resource (click for the current full version) for May. This post includes the updated items. 

I have added two more EVs to the list, making the total (that I know about) 15 EVs and 13 plug-in hybrids in Lyme.

1. One of the new EVs is, to my knowledge, the first Volkswagen EV to cross our borders. Here is some useful information on that:
   1. It’s the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro, a compact SUV.  Until recently, Tesla was the only company that had larger-sized EV options, so this represents a big step in expanding the options.  It has about a 260 mile range.
   2. They test-drove the car at the Miller Auto Group on Route 120/Heater Road, where they also drove the Volvo Recharge XC40 (another relatively new SUV EV option).
   3. They are leasing it, which is a viable option on most EVs (I’m not sure about Teslas on that).  They decided to lease because they needed a new car and wanted it to be an EV, but realize that the EV landscape is going to change a lot in the next couple of years and they want to see what happens before they buy.  Both the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Volvo Recharge are 4WD and bigger than a compact car, which is like the Tesla Model Y, but both these cars are less expensive.
   4. They did not do the lease through Volkswagen of Lebanon, because there is a very limited number of cars available (Volkswagen is only taking ‘pre-orders’).  Once they decided they wanted the ID.4, they called around a bunch of dealers in NH, VT and MA, and found that Kelly VW in Danvers MA had a car that the customer had decided against after ordering it.  So, off they went to Danvers!
   5. They loved the Volvo Recharge as well, but the reason they did not go with that was that the dealer was not passing along the $7500 tax credit for leases.
   6. One worry that they had with a non-Tesla EV was the relative lack of charging stations.  However, there is a fast charging station in Bradford, for example.  They’ve been able to go to Middlebury and back very comfortably on a single charge.  They’ve been to Plymouth NH as well, and were able to plug in at Plymouth State, where Liberty Utilities provides charging for free!
2. Somebody contributed this article about Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E, which looks like a pretty incredible EV.  Another sign that the market is really opening up in terms of options.  https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/why-ford-mustang-mach-e-so-important-climate/618801/
3. Here is an interesting piece from the PBS Newshour on the challenges of moving away from fossil fuels.  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/bidens-dream-of-an-electric-future-faces-an-uphill-battle-heres-why
4. As a balance to the last point, I don’t think I’ve made the drive between here and Hanover recently WITHOUT seeing an EV on the road, which is really pretty exciting.

Spring is definitely here!