Two things: the subsidy for
Two things: the subsidy for EVs is a direct subsidy - a payment for a specific activity, rewarding said activity. If the excuse that buying an EV eliminates foreign oil imports actually sound (it isn't), then my earlier statements about subsidizing natural gas and diesel/biodisel would still be sound as well. Those aren't made from foreign oil either. In fact, most of our motor fuel is NOT from foreign oil imports, it's from North American domestic stock. The majority of imported oil is used to make plastics and other petroleum-derived products, such as about 50% or more of that electric car you drive. Further, our net import is 45% of total use and just over half that is from this hemisphere (mostly from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela). The Persian Gulf area makes up about 22% of our overseas imports, most of that Saudi Arabian oil (note we haven't gone to war there). These are all EIA numbers.
Now let's look at that "80%, 40 miles" number people love to throw out there. That's one of those urban legends that's been repeated so often, it must be true. The number is actually 78% drive 40 miles or less and it comes from a Bureau of Transportation OmniStats publication in 2003. It says that 77% of the population drives less than thirty minutes a day for about 15 miles one-way. Get this: the survey had a sample size of.. only a thousand people. A thousand. Wow. Highly representative, is it not?