Electric cars v Petrol and Diesel runnings cost difference demonstrated (Oct 2022 energy prices!)

I ran through some example figures before but yet again the energy crisis has caused another change in electricity prices. Luckily we now have an energy price cap guarantee but it’s still a lot more expensive than it was a few weeks and months ago.
So what does this mean for electric car buyers and their running costs.
I do want to stipulate here and now that even if they were the same or electric cars cost more than petrol or diesel combustion vehicles I would still want to drive an EV! They’re just better cars and CAN run entirely from renewable green energy. Unfortunately not all of our energy is generated in such a way, BUT even if coal is burned to create electricity it is still many times more efficient and therefor greener than burning fuel in your own engine.

Anyway on with the test. I document a real world journey and explain the running costs of the electric per mile compared to petrol and diesel.
Both from home charging and from public high-power charging which is more expensive.

I do it a bit differently this time and calculate a running cost per mile and then explain the mpg equivalents for petrol and diesel. I figured it may be an easier way for people to relate to and compare to their own cars.

So I hope this is useful and helps.
Of course we’ll see prices vary, different fuel prices, different cars give different results… but you get the idea!

Richard Symons

Thanks for watching!

#electriccars #ev #rsev #energycrisis #ofgem #pricecap

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[washingtonluis]

Great video .
We also need to take in consideration that most of the EV car buyers don't have a drive way or a garage with available to charge at home, the infrastructure in UK for many people still need to charge on the go paying a more expensive tariff for charging all the time .
I would love to upgrade to an mg4 ev, but home charging for me unfortunately is not available as I don't have a drive way, and may never have access to one in my live time .

[farazbaber]

Timely and thoroughly informative vlog Richard. As an owner of just EVs mainly reliant on home charging based on the current cap, it has provided the myth busting clarity I needed to ascertain whether the fuel costs still stack up. Thank you!

[steventhompson]

Nice one Richard. Just got back from Spain last night (7/11/2022) in my 2020 Tesla SR+. A 1300 mile trip and I averaged over 4.2 miles per kWh at speeds varying from 110 to 120 kph on toll roads. Supercharger costs were Euro 0.57 in Spain per KWh (that was on the 6th Oct) and super charger tariffs were Euro 0.67 cents per KWh in France on the 7th Oct. This was my 3rd trip in the car to Spain and like you I love driving electric cars. Love the content, honest and fair reviews.

[bryanlewens]

I got my Model Y in March of this year and have charged from my PVs for most of the summer. Now that the days are getting shorter we are charging at night with Octopus Go. Have used a super chargers twice to date.
For us the cost of summer driving on PVs is zero because the power we use would have gone back to the grid and we would not have got any payment for it.
The car is a averaging just under 4 mile/kWh.
I was quite surprised how little of the PV power we generate we actually used ourselves. Having an EV makes a big difference.
We are lucky in that we were in a position to install PVs over 10 years ago now

[NedNew]

Thank you for posting results also in litres and km for all of us non-UK viewers - it gives a much greater understanding of the results.

[alferro]

The prices are scaringly close. And this video is in the UK.
If you live in a country like Italy, petrol/diesel are cheaper, electricity is more expensive and you will have diesel cars that are cheaper to run( and buy).
I am starting to think that the all electric car thing is getting a bit delusional. I think that most people don't own a garage. That's a massive elephant in the room!
People on lower incomes (let's call it the majority of the population?) will not be able to make the switch to electric.
There is a lot of work to do. We need cheap cars(no dragsters!!) and cheap electricity 🔌
Sadly, I can't see much effort from governments around the world to steer the trend in the right direction (hard if you are financed by oligarchs)
... Norway is just an insignificant effort that doesn't really reflect reality (btw financed by petrol money!!).

[martinblackmore]

Great topic very well explained. I did a trip to Cornwall in an Audi Etron and found it was about on parity with a petrol car as I used the charge network. The issues were more about the variance in costs between charge companies and the unpredictability of payment i.e. contactless/apps and out of order chargers. We have some real infrastructure issues which are slower in being resolved than the uptake of electric cars. This in turn is creating the final issues with long journeys which is that chargers are often being used when you get there.
I found the accuracy of the predicted range and the speed of charging to be great in the Audi which I feel is as important as actual range. One point that appears to not get a mention is that BP, Shell eat are charging approx. the same for electric as diesel but the have no fuel duty hence there profits per KW are many times those of a Litre of diesel - they are keeping that quite. It should be an incentive to put more infrastructure in.

[grahambunton]

A good comparison video but you failed to mention TWO other costs.
You need a charger - you can't just plug your EV into the 13 amp socket. These cost about £1000 on average.
And batteries don't last forever, it will need replacing far sooner than a petrol engine and the cost of replacement is eye-wateringly expensive.

[QuentinStephens]

Your visit to Braintree was illuminating. Please don't assume that people can have a home charger. That may be your target market but many people park on the street and you cannot have charging cables snaking across pavements. And hopefully petrol prices will come back down after the Ukraine conflict is resolved which will change the mathematics considerably.

[superfireflyguy]

Great video. I actually have a Cupra Born on order. When I did this calculation (based on my current car, a Skoda Octavia estate VRs diesel), the parity point was around 64p/kWh. Given that my home rate is 26p/kWh until October 23, I'm having solar and a battery installed, and I'm unlikely to need to use public rapid chargers, I think I'll do alright!

[mjmherts]

Nice one Richard . As a model 3 performance owner your calculations were very interesting. Getting the equivalent of 80 mpg in a car that is so insanely quick is brilliant and bearing in mind I charge on the 7.5p overnight rate this mpg figure will be even more amazing 💪

[kab]

I agree with your findings. I think a major advantage for EV is ‘No’ oil change, filters, antifreeze and gear box. I used to own Mercedes’s and the price for service is joke. I had my EV for 6 months now and really enjoy it.

[nikelliot]

4 years with a Model S, spent £285 in total on servicing!

[TomUlcak]

Love your channel. You give real world examples and comparisons. VERY useful.

[jordanbrant]

I agree on running costs alone an EV is still cheaper, but for a lot of people like myself who want an EV but have no driveway buying an EV makes little sense compared to my current vehicle (2l TDI golf). My current car does around 50mpg about town and 60-70mpg on a long run, diesel is about £1.77. Obviously I also need to consider the cost of the car which currently you cant get an equvilant quality of car for the price (the EV used market will come eventually). On another negative of EV ownership without a driveway, in my village we have 1 charger (50kW) at 60p/kWh, taking into account nearby villages and town there are around 6 more 50kW charges with about 90% of them out of service or having issues reported very recently in zap maps (there are some 7kW and 22kW chargers at a supermarket 6 miles away but they have 90 minute parking restriction) it just really stops people taking the leap when they could potentialy need the public network to be more realiable, alot is still needed to be done before mass adoption.

[Kabob_King]

“Ideally we should all walk” 😂 killing me.

Just saying what’s up from New York!

Great info as always.

[marvinsamuels]

Thanks for another informative video. The sad thing is, those people in the press spreading false info about EV ownership will never watch a video like this as it’s not what they want to hear. They have their agenda and stories to sell and that’s what they will stick with.
Incidentally, I’ve just booked our Ioniq 38kW in for its first service (as advised by the car). It’s only got 7.5k on the clock after 11 months of mostly local use. The cost for this first service….? £64.20. I don’t even think a petrol i10 would be that cheap.

[mattperkins]

Got my VW ID3 in March this year on lease and paying around £300 per month. The same car now and around £550 per month. No way will I be able to continue my EV journey when my lease is up. Totally crazy prices now. How will we get people to jump to EV cars with these prices ?

[bnb]

I just received an email from Shell Recharge about their tariff changes which are now 7-22Kw = 55p/Kwh; 50Kw = 79p/Kwh; 150Kw = 85pKwh. When you compare a 4miles per Kwh EV with a 45mpg ICE you get equivalent pump prices of £1.36/L; £1.95/L; £2.10/L. Now, whilst I don't mind too much paying an equivalent price at the pump to fill up I shan't be using SHELL to fill up at these prices.

[timaustin]

Here's the thing: most clued up EV drivers WILL have EV overnight tariffs, taking per mile costs beneath 2-4p a mile. Significantly cheaper than petrol.