CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — According to TxERTA the number of electric vehicles (EV) in Corpus Christi has doubled.
In Aug. of 2022 the number of registered EV's in Corpus Christi was 594. In Aug. of 2024 the number was 1,191.
Misael Gonzalez is just one of the many residents in Corpus Christi who drives an EV.
"I have seen it myself. The EV population here in Corpus has definitely grown," Gonzalez said.
Antonio Medrano owns a gas-powered vehicle and a Tesla. He said he believes a big piece of the draw to EVs is the low maintenance.
"The electric car has no maintenance at all whatsoever. You don’t have to change your oil. Check the coolant, you don’t have to do those sorts of check ups," Medrano said.
Medrano said because he has a 220 volt charger installed in his garage, he can charge his car quickly.
"I can go from pretty much empty to 80% in four hours in this car," Medrano said.
What about those who don’t have this luxury? How much does it cost to charge their EVs at charging stations?
"Some of them are free, like I said. Like I said, some of them, you do have to pay a little extra because it’s a supercharger," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said the prices of the supercharger stations vary, but it takes around 25 minutes to go from close to empty to almost full. How much does it cost?
"About 14 dollars for almost a full battery," Gonzalez said.
But what about sustainability? Are electric vehicles here for the long haul?
"Over the whole life cycle of the vehicle itself, the electric vehicle will pollute less and release less carbon emission than a gasoline vehicle," Medrano said.
According to TxERTA, there will be 600 thousand EVs in Texas by 2026.
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