When Should I Buy An Electric Car?
With no petrol or diesel bills to worry about, are electric cars really cheaper to run? We reveal the cost of running an electric car
With no petrol or diesel bills to worry about, are electric cars really cheaper to run? We reveal the cost of running an electric car
Cost Of Running An Electric Car
Figures based on three years of ownership, and covering 12,000 miles annually
Electric vehicles have a reputation for being pricier than petrol & diesel cars. The main reason here is the battery pack. The battery that powers the Tesla Model S makes up around 25% of the purchase price, whereas it could cost you just less than £5,000 to replace the battery in a Nissan Leaf.
When it comes to electric car running costs, Electric cars can actually be cheaper than conventional equivalents. At today’s electricity prices, you can expect to pay around 4p per mile, whereas even the most economic petrol car may struggle to get anything lower than 10p per mile on a tank of petrol.
Electric car drivers are also exempt from road tax and other costs like the London Congestion Charge.
Are Electric Cars Worth It?
New owners report being surprised by how fast they accelerate and are generally pleased with handling, although the brakes can be surprisingly powerful. Most drivers also come to appreciate the quiet engine.
Perhaps the biggest performance challenge for Electric cars is the issue of range. Looking again at the most popular Electric cars, the Tesla Models 3 offers 348 miles of range, whereas the maximum range of a Nissan Leaf is around 168 miles. By contrast, most fuel powered cars will take you well over 400 miles on a full tank. Add to that the fact that range suffers further in poor weather conditions..
Another common concern is charging, the lithium-ion cells that power Electric car engines wear out over time and can often be very costly to replace. Recharging an Electric car is also time-consuming, a full charge using a standard UK plug will take most of the night, and even the most efficient chargers take 30 minutes to power-up your car.
Are Electric Cars The Future?
For most drivers, the deciding factor for when to buy an electric car is how you intend to use it. If you mainly use your car for short, urban commutes, and you have access to chargers at both ends of your journey, the low running costs of an electric car make the going electric on your next purchase appealing, particularly if you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint.
If you have a long daily commute or your regularly drive on motorways, it's likely that an Electric car won't meet all of your criteria just yet. However, it shouldn't be long before all car manufacturers offer advanced technology at a much lower price.
There’s huge amounts of research focusing on finding alternative energy sources, from biofuels to oil-producing algae. While the electric car market looks set to continue expanding, what we do know for sure is that it’s a very exciting time to be a driver of an electric vehicle right now.
