| In February, the average EV price soared to more than $58,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, roughly the annual income of the median U.S. worker. Dealers have been able to charge well over the sticker price as buyers have lost the ability to negotiate. "If someone hasn't been in the market, they'll be really shocked by how much a vehicle costs," says Mark Wakefield, an auto expert at the global consulting firm AlixPartners. The limited supply of EVs is colliding with unexpected demand. Despite inventories at a fraction of their pre-pandemic levels, EV sales are outperforming even the more optimistic projections of a few years ago. In January 2022, EVs represented just 4.3 percent of new sales. This January, that share had risen to 7 percent. But even with vehicle prices near record highs, better deals may soon be at hand. Tesla is slashing prices, prompting the rest of the EV industry to follow suit. New federal tax subsidies are coming online, though which vehicles qualify is a moving target. And automakers are releasing a fleet of new all-electric models over the coming months. What's a prospective EV buyer to do: Buy now or wait? There's no right answer, but the decision boils down to a few other questions I explored this week. Here's what I found out: Are EV prices coming back down? EVs remain well above than the industry average, reports Kelley Blue Book, but prices have been on a steady decline since the beginning of the year. The new federal incentives could lower them even more. Is revolutionary EV technology on the way? No one I spoke to thought that huge technology shifts would make your new EV obsolete anytime soon, predicting steady, incremental gains, mostly in battery range and model diversity. "Buying an EV is kind of like buying a desktop computer in the past," says David Undercoffler of Autolist, an online car shopping platform. "Every 12 months, a newer, faster cheaper version comes out. But if you wait, then you'll never buy a computer." Should I buy used or lease an EV? It's the best way to sidestep many of the restrictions on federal incentives. If you want to drive an EV immediately, the leased or used EV offers a great interim solution. The bottom line? From a strictly financial standpoint, it's better to wait if you can. New cars are a financial loss the moment you drive them off the lot. But of course, we pay for more than rubber, metal and batteries. For those who want to have less impact on the climate, and need a car, an EV might be worth every penny. Read the full column to learn more. | 
