You’ve seen it at the pump. High gas prices have been an immediate effect of the Iran war. A gallon of diesel in Utah costs about $1.70 more now than it did two months ago, according to AAA. Gasoline is up $1.40.
That’s got more Utahns thinking about electric cars. Bill Schietzelt, a plumbing and HVAC company manager who commutes 100 miles round-trip every weekday in a diesel Ford F-350, is one of them.
“I love the truck, but I also don't have the need for it anymore,” he said after taking a test drive at EV Auto, a used electric vehicle dealership off I-15 in Woods Cross.
Schietzelt’s commute costs around $20 per day in fuel. After a few years, he figures an electric commuter car will pay for itself.
In the past month and a half, Alex Lawrence, co-founder and CEO of EV Auto, estimates that visits and sales have increased about 20%.
“Call volume, in-person visits, sales are all up as a result of gas prices going up,” he said.
Not every customer leaves in a new ride, but they’re considering EVs as a real option, and Lawrence expects a busy summer.
In 2021, less than half a percent of passenger cars and light trucks in Utah were electric. Now, they make up 2.3%. As for sales, 7% of new cars sold here in 2025 were electric, according to Edmunds, putting Utah at 17th among states for EV market share.
On the used market, the price gap between electric and gas vehicles has shrunk in recent years. The average used EV now costs about $1,300 more than the average used gas car, according to Cox Automotive, the company behind Kelley Blue Book.
And a new federally funded program offers up to $10,000 to lower-income Utahns to swap an old gas car for an electric one.
There are other costs, though. Getting a home charger installed costs about $1,500, and Utah bills EV owners an extra $180 a year or 1.25 cents per mile to pay for roads.
In addition to up-front cost, customers are largely concerned with battery life, Lawrence said. Manufacturer warranties typically cover EV batteries up to 100,000 miles, but batteries are lasting longer than expected. Most still have at least 95% of their range after 3 years, and the research firm Recurrent says more than 90% of EVs that are 10 years or older are still on their original batteries.
Kelbe Goupil, senior associate with the nonprofit Utah Clean Energy, said EV ownership is more feasible than ever. For one thing, more and more new models can drive upward of 300 miles per charge.
“Charging availability is also better than it's ever been, and it's getting better, which is something I'm really excited about,” she said.
Utah has about 1,000 public charging stations, according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center at the U.S. Department of Energy. That makes Utah 12th in the nation for public charging stations per capita, as of 2023.
Charging stations are mostly concentrated along the Wasatch Front, but they also run along major roads through rural parts of the state. The Utah Department of Transportation and Rocky Mountain Power are installing new chargers near highways.
Goupil said that’s a big deal, “for not just Utahns driving around the state and exploring like we like to do, but also for people coming into Utah and exploring all of our national parks.”
Charging at home is a big help, she said, but it’s not an option for many apartment dwellers.
“One of the gaps that we have, I think, especially in Utah, and especially in our urban and suburban centers, is that multifamily piece,” she said.
Utah Clean Energy is working to expand charging at apartment buildings. One way is through EV-readiness ordinances like Salt Lake City’s, which requires some parking spaces to have the infrastructure for a future charger.
Goupil, for her part, drives an old Nissan Leaf that only gets about 80 miles per charge. She doesn’t take it on road trips, but it works for her most of the time.
“By switching one of your vehicles to an EV, even if it's an old, used EV, daily commuter, you will save a ton on gas,” she said
Charging at home is much cheaper per mile than gas in Utah — even before the war with Iran.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
