How much does an electric car really cost? Your in-depth guide with Nicki Shields / Electrifying

With many people considering making the switch to electric, one of the most important factors is cost. Not just the price of the car but how much does an EV cost to run and is it actually cheaper?

Here at Electrifying, we understand that the world of EVs can be daunting which is why we're here to help. In this video, with the help of a Hyundai Ioniq, Nicki explains the cost of electric car ownership.

Why not check out Nicki's video on how to charge an electric car here

Thanks for joining us on our journey to 'Clear the Air' around hybrid and electric cars, we have new videos arriving every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (a mix of studio explainers and road tests) so please subscribe to the channel to find out more!

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[mikegoff]

My friend got a tesla 6 several years back. He loved it for about 75k miles, then started having battery issues, typical battery, shorter and shorter run time/distance per charge etc. At a little over 100k he had to get a new battery pack. $22, 000 later, he's happy with the car performance again, but questions true cost of ownership that nobody talks about.

[TheRichardHonor]

So one of the biggest things that everyone forgets with EVs is that AC charging has losses through the inverter, generally around 10-15%. So a 38kWh charge might have required 45kWh of delivered power. It's not huge, but it can vary, the Ioniq has a really efficient inverter, but the Renault Zoe can be much higher (especially the older Q motors). No such issues with DC charging, as they take the measurement after the inversion.

[bmw]

They never tell you how long it tells you how long it takes to break even before saving money. $50 for oil change at costco. Mufflers usually last forever. My escape has 125, 000 miles and still the same muffler. A tranny fluid change?? 95 bucks. Even with maintenance and fuel, that EV would take a decade to break even.

[stephenfleming]

Its still difficult to judge, I doubt everybody charges their EV from Zero to 100% every time they plug it in at home, so it wont cost so much to charge. On the other hand an EV is about £10K more than the ICE, and if the EV is only saving £1K a year its 10 Years to make up the cost difference, very few are going to keep their EV 10 years. I hear the views on depreciation being less on an EV but I still have to spend/borrow more initially that I could spend on other things or leave in the bank. I am considering a Zoe/Mini as our second car though.

[vladsaghin]

A cost of ownership/purchase comparaison between the Ioniq Hybrid and the Ioniq Electric would have been interesting! Where I live, in Quebec (Canada), it's been shown that the Ioniq EV (37$k) costs less than the 19-20k Hyundai Elantra (equivalent of the i30) over a 5 year period since we have a 13k rebate for EVs and our electricity is dirt cheap because we have 98% hydro and loads of spare electricity which we don't know what to do with lol

[whitemoor]

Sadly several running cost questions not dealt with for us. Cost of charging at public chargers? We have no off road parking and therefore no ability to charge at home. Cost of insurance? I have seen it said before that the insurance for electric vehicles is higher than IC cars? Tyre wear? Due to the prodigious torque do electric cars literally 'eat' tyres? Great to compare costs, but can someone please start to do so for those of us who don't have off road parking/home charging but would like to go electric at some point in the near future!?

[ski]

How much for the initial charging station at your home? The price for installation of the station

[BluffMunkey]

The fuel comparison prices aren't quite that straightforward (in a good way for me) as my mileage is mostly school runs/shopping etc. I have a BMW 320d that rarely gives me more than about 35mpg around town, which is where an EV is even more efficient.

[ski]

How long does a charge last? How long does it take to charge? I'd guess a trip the would be 12 hours by a fuel car would take 2 days via electric.

[Wookey.]

Given how many people lease or PCP these days, it would have been good to compare those costs. Switching to EV will costs me a fortune but I'm going to do it anyway because it's just the right thing to do.

[williamgoss]

What about the Battery denigration ? (And how much for a new one ?)

[timcostello]

Crystal clear and extremely useful explanation of the costs. Thank you Nicki 😀

[CanariesExplorer]

Further to my earlier comment, the vast majority of people in the Uk buy new cars on pcp where they are basically financing the depreciation over 3 or 4 years. The actual resale value at the end is academic as most people hand the car back and buy another one. From the vw website the total cost over 3 years and 30k miles for the base ID3 is £18000 or 6k per year and for a petrol 1.5 tsi golf £15000 . Taking into account fuel the total cost is similar. So the choice is about what people prefer driving and the practical aspects.

[raymondsmith]

Nicely explained, allows people to work out what potential savings are to be made. Great jobs 👌

[Beorn.]

The 6k extra over an Hyundai i30 premium petrol makes no sense to me that equates to 40k miles of motoring just to break even without factoring in the cost of the electricity and installation of the home charger. There's a longnwarranty on the ice so no worries there unlike the child labour issue in the Congo mining the cobalt to manufacture ture the ev batteries. Or the issues around disposal of defunct ev batteries where at the moment only about 50% is recyclable and its not a viable proposition to replace them in a 7 year old car. My car has adaptive cruise and an auto box its plenty relaxing to drive. I just don't think we are there yet with ev's, I think they have been rushed through.

[HE]

It is the infrastructure and charge times that mean a full electric car is a no for me. One a week I have a 400mile drive and I do not want to have to extend my journey time after an already exhausting day. Maybe when solid state batteries come in who knows but looks like quantum scape and others are a few years away from that.

[davidsworld]

It is so hard to believe how short sighted people are. they only think of money today and not tomorrow

the car costs more yes but No road tax, savings every mile you do.
no oil, oil filter, sparks, timing belt etc to buy when they break and not just cost of parts but garage costs and time at the garage used
the amount you save is dependant on you and not some big petrol company who keep costs up by matching all suppliers prices

you look for the best deals on electric prices you save more money but still go to the places you want to go

what will the price of petrol be next year.

[lloydludbrook]

To calculate cost of electricity you have to multiply cost per KWH by the kw and the number of hours charging. You have to check your charger specifications then multiply by number of hours charging.

[rockiewilmot]

what about the $.25 a kilometer for road tax you'll pay, I've heard some road taxes up in the $20, 000.00 a year

[dcvariousvids]

If you do your own servicing, the cost savings could be better. However, during the warranty period, if the servicing is carried out by a main dealership, the costs won’t be any cheaper than for a diesel or petrol vehicle. As although there’s less entailed with servicing an EV compared to and ICEd vehicle. Dealers are charging the same per service. The only way to get round this, is to have a local garage do the work as described in the service manual. In theory this should not invalidate the warranty. In reality, if a warranty repair does need to be carried out, the dealer will probably drag their heels on any such repair. Plus software updates, can only be carried out by main dealers, as manufacturers are not sharing their software with independent garages.

As to prices of EVs falling. That is incorrect. The prices of EVs are increasing for both new and secondhand vehicles. Brexit will increase imported vehicles by at least another 10% and since over 90% of EVs are currently imported, the saving as are, will take a very long time, (tens of years) to pay back the difference between an EV and an ICEd vehicle. While it is true that the more EVs manufacturers make, the less each vehicle costs to make. But these savings are not being passed onto the buyers. If you can afford one, you can engage smug mode. But if you can’t afford to replace your current vehicle, with one costing roughly 2-3 times as much, then you can’t afford an EV that has a range greater than 120mi in winter, (winter being temps. below 10°C).