Fuel fiasco: Is now the time to switch to an electric vehicle?

There are already over 10 million electric vehicles (EV) on the road and by 2035, to meet Net Zero plans, around 300 million EVs are projected to be driving around. 2020 was a pivotal year for EVs, with a record three million sales – up 40% from 2019.

EVs are now serious contenders in the buyer’s market and one of their main selling points, besides being emission free and better for the planet, is that they are cheaper to run.

According to British Gas, you can fully charge a 60kW EV with a 200-mile range for under £10 – that works out approximately £4 per 100 miles. In comparison, an internal combustion engine (ICE) car that is equivalent in weight and size is roughly £14 per 100 miles. A noticeable difference if you’re watching the pennies!

Analysts from YESSS Electrical went one step further and calculated how much EV owners could save on fuel per year. The electricity to drive the UK average of 6,800 mile each year costs £265.82, in comparison to £888.42 for petrol owners and £808.51 for diesel owners – that’s an average total saving of £582.65 per year. These numbers begin to look more attractive the quicker fuel prices escalate.

This fuel cost calculator lets you compare the cost of two cars: https://www.nextgreencar.com/tools/fuel-cost-calculator/

As an example, I compared my Fiat 500 to a Tesla Model 3 (ranked No1 in What Car’s best electric cars 2022) and I could save £530 per year! Certainly something for me to think about…

Recent research, however, has revealed that EVs are the most fault prone fuel type. A Which? survey found that in cars up to four years old, nearly one in three (31%) EV owners reported one fault or more. This is compared to less than one in five (19%) petrol owners.

Which? is now calling on manufacturers to “up their game” because they need to gain the trust of drivers in order to encourage them to make the switch. Reliability is “extremely important” to 71% of new-car buyers, according to Consumer Report’s most recent National Car Buying Survey.

Despite the high fault rates reported in the survey, EV maintenance can be simpler and cheaper than regular vehicles. EVs have fewer parts that can go wrong so maintenance costs can be as much as 50% less. They also use regenerative braking which puts less pressure on the brake pads, so they don’t need maintaining as often. Servicing tends to also cost less, depending on the model.

Charging technology is also evolving at an exponential rate – there are many solutions on the market that can help EV owners lower the cost of charging. For example, a portable charger from ZipCharge has inbuilt artificial intelligence (AI) that enables it to learn the users’ charging patterns and make schedule recommendations to optimise charging at off peak times, saving money and reducing the load on the grid.

Other cost incentives to switching include Government grants, tax exemption and discounted Congestion Charges.

The price of crude oil has dropped but the price of fuel at UK forecourts continues to rise. Perhaps now is the time to jump on the EV bandwagon and see how cost efficient you can be.