Man Buys Electric Vehicle Only To Ditch It For Gas Car During Family Road Trip

A man and his family ditched their new $115,000 electric vehicle (EV) during a family road trip in July, switching to a gas-powered rental vehicle after being unable to charge the truck, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Dalbir Bala left his 2023 Ford f-150 Lighting Lariat in Minnesota after being unable to charge the EV at two separate charging stations along the way on his family road trip from La Selle, Manitoba, to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, according to CBC. Bala had planned his route to stop at charging stations to accommodate the 320-mile range limit that the vehicle has for its battery.

“That’s when we decided we don’t want any more distraction or any frustration,” Bala said, according to CBC. “Electric vehicle, new technology … I was impressed with it. That made me buy this thing.”

When Bala tried to charge his truck at his stop in Albertville, Minnesota, he was met with a faulty connection message when he plugged it into the charging station, according to CBC. He called the number on the charger following the error message, but no one responded.

Following his inability to charge at his previous stop, he drove to a charging station in Elk River, Minnesota, but was unable to charge there either, according to CBC. He was then left with only nine miles of remaining battery, which was not enough to reach another charging station, promoting him to have the vehicle towed to a nearby Ford dealership, and Bala rented a gas-powered Toyota 4Runner to finish the drive.

Robbin Nesbit, sales manager for the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association, checked the usage records for the charger on the day of the visit and noted that other people were able to successfully charge their cars that day, according to CBC.

Ford pushed back its production target for its EVs in July, now estimating that the company will produce the vehicles at a rate of 600,000 per year by the end of 2024 instead of the end of 2023.

Through legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration has given large tax credits for EVs and the production of the batteries used in the cars.

Ford Motor Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.