The true cost of owning an electric car
Even with the government’s plug-in grant, the price of an electric car can seem steep compared to its petrol or diesel-driven equivalent. But when you offset the up-front cost of an electric car against the lifetime cost of ownership, it’s a different story.
The cost of charging your electric vehicle
The cost of charging an electric car is generally much cheaper than filling up with petrol or diesel, saving up to £41,000 in lifetime costs. However, as electric cars become more widespread, higher demand may well increase electricity costs. Conversely, as more savings are made on switching to renewable energy sources for the home, worrying about the cost of charging your vehicle will become a thing of the past
Charging your electric car on an off-peak tariff will bring costs down even further.
Special tariffs for electric car owners like EDF Energy’s GoElectric are beginning to appear and are likely to become more common as the popularity of electric vehicles rises. In another saving on charging costs, you can get up to 75% off the cost of installing a smart charge point on your property (subject to suitability) under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS).
The cost of running a hybrid car
For those looking for the value found in an electric car but are worried about its range, a PHEV (plug-in hybrid) car may be an option.
The cost of running a hybrid car can be much cheaper than that of a standard ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle. A PHEV engine will make the most of electric charging points like an electric vehicle, but when the battery becomes depleted it will switch over to the ICE.
Electric car tax
The International Council for Clean Transport (ICCT) published a study in late 2018 which showed that electric cars are already cheaper to own and run than petrol and diesel-driven vehicles.
The ICCT study analysed the combined purchase, fuel and tax costs of battery electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel versions of the same model in five European countries (UK, Germany, France, Netherlands and Norway). In each country, the pure electric vehicle was seen to be cheaper than its petrol and diesel equivalent. The difference between a pure electric and diesel car was 5% here in the UK, rising in Norway to 27% (where electric cars are exempt from a heavy registration tax).
The report concluded that using a vehicle taxation policy to incentivise the purchase of electric cars would significantly accelerate the reduction in vehicle CO2 emissions.
Savings for a hybrid vehicle
Buying a hybrid car also saves you money on tax, since a hybrid vehicle is subject to smaller road tax payments than a standard petrol or diesel engine.
For example, ultra-low emission vehicles such as the DS 7 Crossback E-Tense, Citroën C5 AIRCROSS SUV Hybrid and the Peugeot 3008 SUV Hybrid will not have to pay congestion charge when driving in and around London. And as if that wasn’t enough, its combination of plug-in and ICE engine battery charge means you can enjoy an extended mileage for less cost.
