Are Electric Cars Expensive?

Are Electric Cars Expensive?

Is it cheaper to drive an electric car?

A recent study shows that it is already cheaper overall to run an electric car when taking into account the purchase, fuel and tax costs. The study found that when compared over four years Europe’s best selling car – the VW Golf, in its battery electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel versions - the pure electric was the cheapest in the UK, Germany, France, The Netherlands and Norway.

Will electric cars get cheaper?

We can expect electric cars to get cheaper too because since the announcement of the 2035 deadline ( amended recently from 2040 )banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars the costs of electric vehicles will come down as motor manufacturers release new models and the market becomes more competitive. This is good news for Electric Vehicle Drivers, and we are seeing many new models being launched all the time. Leasing companies are adding EV’s to their range making them more accessible to individuals and businesses. This is in addition to the massive savings to be made on fuel and maintenance costs.

Currently there are huge tax incentives to encourage the take up of electric vehicles and business owners should be looking at where they can save and take advantage of these opportunities.

What Grants are available for Electric Vehicles?

Government Grants:

There are still some grants available for cars in the UK but this is mostly limited to wheelchair accessible vehicles and conversions. Vans are still being supported, this is changing all the time, please refer to the Government website for the latest information. Grants are deducted at the dealership at the time of purchase, (or leasing) so no messing around for you finding out how to claim.

Are Electric Vehicles Exempt from Congestion Charge?

On the road, drivers of plug-in electric cars and vans are exempt from paying the London Congestion Charge  (subject to registration), find out more here, and as they produce no tailpipe emissions pure Electric Vehicles are automatically exempt from the London ULEZ introduced in April 2019 ( and expanding.) More and more UK towns and cities are introducing clean air zones with charges for polluting vehicles.

A number of UK towns and cities offer free parking to drivers of pure electric vehicles – some even offer free charging

Is it cheaper to charge my electric car at home?

Charging at home is still cost effective even with the present energy crisis we are facing and it is estimated that the average cost to charge an EV at home on a standard ( not off peak ) tariff will be around 9-11 pence per mile after 1 October.  Whilst this has increased considerably it is still less than the estimated average cost per mile of petrol and diesel at around 20 and 18 pence per mile respectively. Take advantage of Smart charging and the special tariffs available for EV drivers from enterprising electricity providers and costs drop further still. 

Green number plates.

I'm sure everyone is now familiar with the green strip on the number plates being sported by EV's. Have you noticed just how many there are these days?  Designed to identify and encourage take up this could also mean more benefits for drivers of electric vehicles like free parking, free charging in some areas and even the use of bus lanes.