SHOPSMART AUTOS – CUSTOMER INFORMATION – DECEMBER 13, 2021 -1
The true cost of owning an electric car
Electric cars are often pricier to buy than traditional alternatives, but they’re cheaper to run, right? Well, we’ve looked at how some of the best stack up in terms of costs… The UK is one of Europe’s biggest markets for electric vehicles (EVs), behind Norway and Germany. There are nearly 200,000 full EVs on British roads today and close to 400,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). Although the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on new car sales last year, it encouraged more people to go electric. Sales of EVs in 2020 were up by 186% compared with the previous year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), with 108,205 registered. PHEV sales rose by 91% on the previous year, and together these two power types accounted for nearly 10% of new car registrations for the first time; that’s three times more than in 2019. That’s all very encouraging, but EV buyers could end up paying extra to go green. Many of those cars are more expensive to buy than their petrol and diesel-engined counterparts, and some cost more to insure and maintain. On top of that, if you can’t recharge your car cheaply at home you could end up paying more to run it than you would a petrol car.
To see how they compare with other types of cars in terms of costs, we’ve chosen some of our favourite EVs: the Volkswagen ID.3 Pro Performance Life (winner of the small electric car category at the 2021 What Car? Awards), the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus (winner of the large EV category), the BMW iX3 (our top electric SUV), the Kia E-Niro Long Range (best small EV for long journeys) and the Audi E-tron (the highest-rated large EV for comfort).
Buying
Even after you’ve deducted the Government’s £3000 grant for EVs that cost less than £50,000, many are pricier than petrol or diesel alternatives. Volkswagen’s ID.3, for example, costs around 16% more than a comparable Golf, while Kia’s E-Niro will set you back just over 20% more than a Niro Hybrid. However, the Tesla Model 3 is 10% cheaper than the equivalent BMW 330e PHEV and around the same as a 320d, while Audi’s E-tron represents a saving of nearly 10% over a comparable Q7.
Insurance
At the top end of the market, some EVs can be a lot more expensive to insure than their petrol and diesel rivals. The priciest of our examples to insure is the Model 3, which costs a whopping 45% more than a comparable 3 Series. The E-tron also costs marginally more than a comparable Audi Q7. However, at the more affordable end of the market, there’s little difference between the ID.3 and Golf, or the E-Niro and other Niro models.
Doug Woodley, technical assurance manager at Thatcham Research, which helps to create insurance group ratings, says: “Many EVs are more powerful than their petrol and diesel equivalents and present a higher insurance risk based on relative performance alone. In addition, EVs are still broadly more expensive to buy than the equivalent conventional car. “The construction of EVs often differs from that of more traditional cars, too. Many utilise cutting-edge materials and manufacturing techniques, which tend to make them more expensive to repair following an accident. “Vehicle manufacturers are working to bring down the cost of EV ownership, and as the take-up of EVs grows, we would expect the cost of accident repairs to fall. So we expect the premium differential between EVs and conventionally powered vehicles to narrow in the months and years ahead.”
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