Are Electric Cars Worth the Money?

There’s considerable fuss over electric vehicles (EVs) at the moment and whether they pay for themselves. While the Tesla models have garnered considerable attention, they’re still far more common to see on American roads than in the UK. This is partly because of the sticker shock for these premium EVs. However, other manufacturers are producing more affordable electric cars now for the UK market, including Renault, Hyundai, and Nissan, with others to follow. The increasing visibility of EVs on UK roads will surely capture the mindshare of drivers currently exploring what their next car will be. So, are electric cars worth the money? Let’s consider this now.

Electric Cars Still Cost More Upfront

For people wanting to purchase a new car, the stumbling block with EVs is often the purchase price. Even with purchasing a second-hand EV, there’s a battery to worry about. It’ll likely need to be replaced if it has been poorly treated with excessive draining and subsequently won’t recharge fully now. For EVs where the battery is replaceable, this will add to the purchase price for previously owned vehicles too.

Until electric cars become ubiquitous on the roads, it’s fair to say that EVs will remain costlier to purchase than petrol-based vehicles. However, this is only when looking at the upfront cost, not the total cost of ownership and other factors.

Are Electric Cars Cheaper to Operate?

As we mentioned before, the total cost of ownership including the cost per mile or kilometre should be factored in. The cost to charge up a 50kWh EV varies depending on if it’s charged during daytime hours or overnight when a lower tariff applies. However, even at the higher daytime rate, the average per-mile cost is approximately 8 pence versus 13 pence for petrol cars.

To put this into proper perspective, a driver putting in 12,000 miles annually will pay roughly £1,500 in fuel costs. For the EV owner, charging at peak time will cost approximately £525 and even less at overnight tariffs. Therefore, there’s the potential to save £1,000 or more annually. Also, EVs are less prone to breakdown due to a faulty engine or other parts going wrong compared to engines powered using diesel or petrol. They’re likely more reliable overall.

Is Road Tax Different for Electric Cars in the UK?

Road tax differences with EVs is one of the lesser-known details. Most EVs are free from road tax, but those from 2017 or newer cost £360 each year if they originally cost more than £40,000. However, it’s much less than what’s charged in road tax for an equivalent size and cost of a vehicle that uses fossil fuels. Therefore, there’s money saved on the annual road tax expense too.

Surely, there are other details about electric cars that you’re unaware of because they’re so new? Here is Electrix’s helpful quiz for clarification. They assist EV owners by working with product developers to create new products that support EV usage.

City Access Increasing in Costs for Inefficient Cars

Cities are leveraging new zones to reduce the number of vehicles in the city at any given time. This is being done through charging for access, such as with London’s Congestion Charge. There is now a new ULEZ that has expanded within the capital. It now charges additionally for vehicles that fail to meet older emission standards. Depending on how often you’ll visit the capital by car, this can add up fast. Other cities are bound to introduce similar zones which encourage UK vehicle owners to upgrade from outdated, polluting vehicles to better ones.

Electric Company Cars Are Cheaper Too

For managers who are supplied with a UK company car, this doesn’t come cheap either. The Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax is expensive for people on a salary with a company car thrown in. It adds thousands in additional liability which reduces their net salary accordingly. The improvement to this situation with an electric car is that the BIK is reduced significantly for electric company cars. This is encouraging UK companies to upgrade their fleet to EVs instead of new petrol-based vehicles. While they may be doing this gradually as their fleet ages out, it’s still good news for managers who get the company car perk.

What’s the Bottom Line on EVs?

It’s increasingly obvious that the UK government and local councils are moving to a model where older vehicles are charged extra for city access. Depending on how much a car gets used, these costs add up quickly. Many car manufacturers are producing electric cars in greater numbers and are planning to move entirely to EV production in the future. The push is clearly to electric and away from polluting fossil fuels as the standard to power a car on the road.

For drivers looking to replace their current vehicle with a new one and intending it to last for the foreseeable future, buying electric is future proofing their purchase. Purchasing a petrol-based car now will create increasing headaches and eventually it will need to be replaced with an electric car.