Should I buy an EV now or wait until my gas-powered car is at the end of its life-cycle?

Transitioning to an EV sooner is the best way to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution from our personal transportation, especially if we are currently driving an older vehicle that uses more gas and is higher-polluting. According to a recent study from the International Council on Clean Transportation, “battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have by far the lowest life-cycle GHG emissions… emissions over the lifetime of average medium-size BEVs registered today are already lower than comparable gasoline cars by 66%–69% in Europe, 60%–68% in the United States, 37%–45% in China, and 19%–34% in India. Additionally, as the electricity mix continues to decarbonize, the life-cycle emissions gap between BEVs and gasoline vehicles increases substantially when considering medium-size cars projected to be registered in 2030. 

For most gas cars, only about 10-15% of lifecycle emissions occur from manufacturing and recycling it, with 85-90% of impact happening from the decade or two of driving it. Most EVs pay off their additional impact of manufacturing in 6 months-2 years, depending on battery size.  If you can afford to purchase a much cleaner car and are most concerned about reducing carbon emissions, research shows that it is better to transition to an EV sooner. You can sell your old gasoline car to someone else who can use it until it reaches  the end of its life and is taken off the road. We need to increase the number of EVs on the road relative to gasoline-powered cars.