Is an EV really cheaper to run?

CHEAPER NOW, OR CHEAPER FOREVER? Let’s be clear: five years from now, the cost of buying and running an electric vehicle will be the same as for a comparable petrol or diesel car. Simple. Right now, the picture is less clear. Whether an EV will save you money depends on many variables, including where you live, where you work and how many miles you do.

SO HOW DO I WORK IT OUT? The government-backed Go Ultra Low site shows some convincing figures. On road tax and fuel costs it spells out the massive benefits of plumping for a Nissan Leaf over a Nissan Juke, for example. But it’s mute on resale values, servicing costs (about 25 per cent cheaper, reckons Renault) or insurance (typically more, in line with higher purchase prices). If your petrol will cost you something like 12p a mile, electricity will cost you a quarter of that. Your annual road tax will be zero as a private driver (business EV drivers pay, but less than normal), although EVs over £40,000 get hit for £320 a year for the first five years.

Depreciation used to be a worry for EV owners, with the double anxiety that their car might be completely overtaken by new technology before they can sell it, and their battery might melt. The trade now says there’s growing demand for used EVs, and manufacturers are o ering assurances on batteries (seven years on the ID3).

The Congestion Charge is the clincher for many. London’s EV exemption will end in December 2025, but until then you get to drive your e-Tron around Hyde Park Corner free of charge.

WHAT ABOUT MAKING THE SWITCH? Some manufacturers go out of their way to ease the transition; Renault, for instance, installs a wallbox for Zoe customers. Merc has an app called EQ Ready that tells you in some detail whether the journey you’ve just done would

have been possible in an EQC without stopping to charge.