Paul Hughes describes his decision to buy an electric car back in 2015 as a “no-brainer.”
The 53-year-old calculates that over the past nine years he has saved more than £6,500 per year on fuel, and an extra £1,000 on vehicle emissions duty (VED) compared to his old vehicle.
He admits he is fortunate, because there was a charger at his home, plus solar panels already on the property when he and his wife moved in, mean charging the car is “virtually free”.
Charging up his Renault Zoe costs just 3.5p per mile, compared to 13p per mile for his old Jaguar.
New research from from Compare the Market shows the typical annual running cost for an electric vehicle is now £525 cheaper than a petrol car on average.
The data, which looked at insurance costs, fuel and taxes, showed that for a typical 45 to 54-year-old, the average annual cost of running an electric vehicle is £1,195. In comparison, a petrol car typically costs £1,720 to run for 12 months.
Mr Hughes bought his Renault Zoe for £13,600 in 2015, benefitting from a dealer discount and government grant. He says there are some upfront costs that offset the benefits slightly, but that it is “still cheaper all things considered.”
The Government ran a grant scheme for electric-vehicle purchases until 2022, offering up to £5,000, but has since scrapped it.
“One issue I’ve found is that of course cars do go wrong – we did have a problem with our charging block and it cost £3,500 to fix, so I think people need to be aware that in certain circumstances, repair costs for electric vehicles can be quite high. Get a long warranty is my recommendation,” says Mr Hughes.
“It would also be a lot more expensive if I didn’t have the personal charging point as public ones can be quite pricey.”
But the business owner, who lives in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, says his car works well for family purposes, which include short journeys such as school runs for his children. It does 70 miles per charge.
Richard Lancaster and his wife Rose, who live near Bristol, also say their recent model, an MG5, bought in 2022, saves them cash.
Mr Lancaster, 69, says the primary reason he bought the car was environmental, but it also saves the couple hundreds of pounds a year.
“The saving is an added bonus. In theory, I can charge it entirely for free in the summer because of my solar panels,” he says.
“I’ve essentially never had to charge it from a public point because you can drive up to 250 miles between charges.”
The upfront cost of buying the car was a little higher than if he had bought a petrol one, but some costs, such as servicing appear to be lower.
And he recommends the type of car to others of his age bracket: “I’m retired, so it’s mainly local journeys and it really suits my purpose. I know that some retired people are reluctant to get an electric vehicle, but actually it suits them most.”
Compare the Market research found that the cost of car insurance has significantly increased year-on-year for both electric and petrol vehicles, with the average premium for a middle-aged person driving an electric vehicle rising by £139 in the past 12 months, while the average premium for a petrol car has jumped £157.
The average premium for an electric vehicle is still £195 more than for petrol vehicle if the driver is aged between 45 and 54.
However, falling energy prices are making charging cheaper. The cost of electricity to run an EV for a year has declined by an average of £155.
Electricity to power an electric vehicle for 12 months costs £400 on average compared to £555 last year. In contrast, the average cost of petrol to fuel a car for a year has decreased by £15 to £930.
Vehicle emissions duty is zero for those with electric cars, but can cost close to £200 for petrol cars, and in some cases more, if the car is larger.
But despite the potential savings, some drivers are put off by the upfront costs, which may be unaffordable for some.
Data this weekend showed electric vehicles recorded their best ever sale start to the year – 17 per cent of new car sales were electric between January and April, pushing sales to more than 100,000 in 2024, according to research group New AutoMotive.
Survey data from Carwow suggests three in five drivers say the high purchase cost would make them less likely to buy an electric vehicle.
It found 42 per cent of motorists thought it was fairly likely or very likely they would buy a hybrid or fully-electric as their next car, with 34 per cent saying it was unlikely.
John Rawlings, consumer editor at Carwow said: “While electric vehicles do currently have higher upfront costs compared to internal combustion engines (ICE), they have lower running costs as electricity is generally cheaper – especially for owners who have home chargers and solar panels like Richard and Rose – and they are also more efficient at converting energy into motion. Electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than petrol and diesel cars, so require less maintenance over the vehicle’s lifetime.”
He said there were also other incentives too, such as no concerns when it came to the likes of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London.
“And, as the electric vehicle charging infrastructure continues to improve and the market becomes increasingly more competitive – Chinese brands particularly are shaking up the market with a wide range of more affordable models – the purchase price gap will continue to narrow, making EVs a more attractive option for more and more people,” he added.
