Sep 26, 2019
Is it really worth to make the switch from your petrol car to an electric car? Are you really saving that much money?
MyCarNeedsA.com have done some research into the trust cost of an electric car and if it’s really worth it.
Electric cars do cost a signification amount more than a traditional petrol car. For example, if you take the best selling electric car, the Nissan LEAF; costs start from £27,995 and the best selling petrol car, the Ford Fiesta; costs start from £15,995.
This is a £12,000 difference, which is a huge difference. However, if you consider the grant that you will be award (mentioned below) and the amount of money you save on fuel, it could be the right move for you to make the switch.
If you read our previous post on ‘How to Choose an Electric Car’ you might have leant that Government offers a grant up to £3,500 to help pay the initial cost for electric cars.
(Read our blog on ‘How to Choose an Electric Car here!)
In terms of road tax, if your EV is less than £40,000 when you, you will not need to pay road tax.
If you have an electric car that emits less than 75g/km CO₂ then you don’t need to pay a congestion charge (savings from over £2,000 a year).
To work out how much it's actually going to cost you per mile, then there are some calculations that you can use;
Electric Car:
battery capacity x cost per unit of electricity= cost of a full charge
cost of full charge / range (miles)= cost per mile
Petrol Car:
fuel tank capacity x cost per unit of petrol= cost of a full tank
Cost of a full tank / range (miles)= cost per mile
By using these equations you can work out exactly how much you would be saving. Below we have done some examples to show you how it’s done.
Nissan Leaf:
battery capacity x cost per unit of electricity= cost of a full charge
40 kWh x £0.12= £4.80
cost of full charge / range (miles)= cost per mile
480p / 140 miles= 3.42p
The cost per mile to run a Nissan Leaf= 3.42p
Ford Fiesta:
fuel tank capacity x cost per unit of petrol= cost of a full tank
42L x £1.19=£49.98
Cost of a full tank range / fuel efficiency= cost per mile
4998p / 434 miles= 11.51p
The cost per mile to run a Ford Fiesta= 11.51p
If you purchase a new Nissan LEAF (the most popular EV in the UK) then your battery will be covered for five/ eight years or 60,000 - 100,000 miles (just depends on which one you get to first).
How long your battery lasts exactly will entirely depend on you and how you treat your EV. For example, high temperatures will make the battery wear down faster, as will continuous recharging with one day.
If you would like to charge your electric car, then first you will need to purchase a charging station. Just like your electric car, the Government will offer you a grant up to £500 to help cover the cost of installing the charging point at your home. The average cost for a home charging point and the installation is around £1,000.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, a full charge (~100 miles) of your electric car at home will cost around £4-£6 for everyone 100 miles; however, these figures may not be exact because it depends on how much you are paying for electricity.
If you would like to work out how much it is to charge your EV from an empty battery to full, then you can use the following equation:
size of battery (kWh) x electricity cost you pay (pence per kilowatt hour)= cost to charge an electric car
Again, according to Energy Saving Trust, a full charge (~100 miles) of your electric car at a public charging point will cost you around £8-£10; but this can vary as some charging points are more expensive than others.
If you drive ~100 miles in a petrol or diesel car, then it will roughly cost you around £13-16 (The Energy Saving Trust) which is around double what you would be paying to charge your electric car.
You will see the biggest savings if you charge at home and have access to an off-peak overnight electricity tariff.
Also if you use the equation in ‘How much does it cost to run an electric car’ you can work out exactly how much you would be saving.
Here at MyCarNeedsA.com, we have only given you rough amounts so you can get an idea on how much it will cost; the best thing for you to do is work out your own calculations for your own car.
You also need to think about is an electric car the right choice for you? For example, if you drive a lot around London, you could save over £2,000 on the congestion charge, however, charging points near you could be a lot more expensive than petrol pumps.
