Buying a car is a big purchase you make, and buying electric vehicles (EV) is no different.
Since the preliminary prices for comparable electric and gas vehicles are on the same level, EV does not take much time to start saving your money. Lower fuel costs will result in immediate daily savings on your car, and before you know about it.
Since the preliminary prices for comparable electric and gas vehicles are on the same level, EV does not take much time to start saving your money. Lower fuel costs will result in immediate daily savings on your car, and before you know about it.
In addition, lowering the cost of servicing electric vehicles will save you money. This is due to parts in a standard internal combustion engine that must be replaced regularly that do not exist in an electric vehicle. For example, engine oil, spark plugs, and timing belts are all commonly damaged or replaced components in internal combustion engine engines that are not found in electric vehicles. The fee for replacing such parts increases over time, which leads to even greater savings when choosing an electric car.
Electric cars are already cheaper to own and run than petrol or diesel alternatives in five European countries analysed in new research.
Electric cars offer the biggest savings over diesel in Norway (27%) as the battery-powered vehicles are exempt from a heavy registration tax. The ICCT analysis was updated for the Guardian after recent cuts in the UK’s grants for electric car purchases. It shows British drivers see the smallest saving – 5%. In Germany, France and the Netherlands, the saving varied from 11% to 15%.
Source: ICCT
AAA is a North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization.
The AAA study gives the public an idea of the real costs of owning and operating a vehicle by quantifying costs.
As of September 2019 according to AAA:
- Average fuel cost rose to 11.6 cents per mile, 5% higher than last year. The per-mile increase was driven by gasoline prices, which are up 15.6 cents per gallon over the timeframe covered by the study. Electricity prices for EV charging also rose 0.1 cent per kilowatt-hour (0.08%), but the market share of the electric vehicles in the study (0.48%) makes the effect of this increase on the overall average fuel cost negligible. Fuel costs vary widely by vehicle type, ranging from a low of 3.65 cents per mile for electric vehicles, to 15.67 cents per mile for pickup trucks.
- Average maintenance and repair costs climbed marginally to 8.94 cents per mile, up 8.9% over last year. The increase was fueled by the growing complexity of vehicle systems and an updated methodology for calculating repair costs.
- Electric vehicles had the lowest maintenance and repair costs – 6.6 cents per mile – while medium-sized SUVs had the highest at 9.6 cents per mile.
- The cost of licenses, registration fees and taxes rose $14 to $753 per year, an increase of 1.9%.
There are also studies that show us that the cost of owning an Tesla is much lower than the cost of owning of gas-powered cars.
CleanTechnica conducted several studies that compared the cost of owning a Tesla Model 3 with some gas-powered vehicles.
For example, a comparison of the cost of ownership of a Tesla Model 3 and a Toyota Camry over 5 years of use showed that the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, a dramatically better car than the Camry, beat all three of these trims by a wide margin, especially the base trim.
For example, a comparison of the cost of ownership of a Tesla Model 3 and a Toyota Camry over 5 years of use showed that the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, a dramatically better car than the Camry, beat all three of these trims by a wide margin, especially the base trim.
Chart: CleanTechnica
Another example CleanTechnica studied comparing the cost of ownership of Tesla Model 3 and a Honda Accord over 5 years of use showed that the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus (SR+) as slightly less costly over 5 years than the Honda Accord LX, and significantly less costly than the Accord EX or Accord Touring. This is without adding any features to the Model 3 or the Accord trims.
Chart: CleanTechnica
You can calculate the cost of owning your vehicle using the links below:
If you compared models of vehicles in the same category, you surely noticed that in all cases the cost of owning an EV is much lower than the cost of owning of gas-powered cars.
In addition, if we compare EV with each other, we conclude that Tesla is undoubtedly the best option. You can read more about it here.
All Tesla models have excellent features:
- modern design;
- a powerful power unit that provides the electric vehicle with better dynamics than most models with internal combustion engines;
- a huge touch screen as a control panel;
- a complete set of many modern security systems and driver assistance;
- significant range.
All models of other manufacturers have several disadvantages, including when the price does not match the quality of the proposed product.
If we make an objective comparison, it will be obvious that any of the Tesla models is out of competition.
The one exception is the price. But let's not forget that the price of Tesla is consistent with its quality. And all Tesla vehicles will now come with a basic Autopilot system!
The one exception is the price. But let's not forget that the price of Tesla is consistent with its quality. And all Tesla vehicles will now come with a basic Autopilot system!
So, summing up all the information, we can say that owning electric cars is much lower than owning gas-powered cars. And if we compare Tesla cars with those of other EV automakers, we can conclude that Tesla is the best option to own.
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
