New ECIU study shows EVs are cheaper to own than fossil fuelled vehicles

1 CommentElectric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

A study commissioned by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has shown that electric vehicles (EV) owners in the UK are currently saving £600 a year, totalling £8,300 over the 14-year lifetime of an EV, making them cheaper to run than fossil fuelled vehicles.

The research organisation’s Global Momentum on Clean Transition report also found that the number of EV sales doubled globally in 2021 reaching 6.6 million cars and the market is on track to double this figure again in 2022. The number of EV models available has also grown to 184, five times more than there was five years ago.

 

It is unclear how the removal of the Vehicle Excise Duty exemption for EVs in 2025 in the UK will effect this continued growth.

 

More positive findings highlighted by the report include that owners of second-hand EVs could get a battery bonus, with the potential return of 10-20% of the vehicle’s value, by selling its battery for recycling at the end of its life-span.

“This is a UK snapshot of a global story, of a car market that is speeding ever faster towards an electric future. EVs charged, increasingly by cheap renewables, will bring down the cost of driving for everyone, particularly as more and more EVs find their way on to the second-hand market,” commented Colin Walker, transport lead at ECIU.

Read more: Current+

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Comments (1)

  1. Peter Jennings (@pjajennings)

    Reply

    It IS cheaper to run an EV … IF you can charge at home on an advantageous tariff. (example Octopus Go @ 7.5p/kWh)
    With some Public charging points priced at £1 per kWh and many around 75p (Instavolt for example) not so much. Take a typical IC car at, say, 45MPG. This equates to approximately 17p/mile which is equivalent to 68p/kWh assuming an equivalent EV does 4miles/kWh. The fuel savings aren’t so great any more.
    Servicing SHOULD be much cheaper, but again main dealers are charging IC service prices for little more than walking round the vehicle and counting the wheels! Fortunately independent garages are more realistic.
    Then there is tax and subsidies. When I bought my EV 4 1/2 years ago, I got a total of £13,000 off comprising the government subsidy, the manufacturers scrappage scheme and a discount from the dealer. All of these have all but disappeared and soon I will be paying the annual tax at the same rate as an IC car. So much for incentives.
    I’m still saving money as I charge at home. It used to cost me £1,200 per year for diesel (at 2018 prices) but even with the electricity price rises,I calculate that’s now £300 per year for electricity. Nevertheless I’m not totally convinced that EV ownership is a universal option now the running costs are approaching those of an IC and the EVs still sell at a serious premium.

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