Photo: Ford
We already knew that electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs, thanks to the lack of an engine. A new report shows that EVs are also much cheaper to refuel than all other cars built for the 2022 model year.
Electric vehicles have a steep entry price, which puts them out of reach of most people. Nevertheless, they bring significant cost savings over their ICE counterparts once purchased. This starts with the maintenance, which is basically non-existent on an electric car. They don’t need oil changes or other expensive checks. Also, the brake pads tend to last forever because braking is mostly regenerative.
According to the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, the annual costs of charging electric vehicles are significantly lower than filling up comparable ICE vehicles with gas. In fact, the difference might amount to thousands of dollars a year, assuming a mileage of 15,000 miles (24,000 km) per year.
Despite some EV owners complaining that the cost of public charging has skyrocketed in the past year, charging an electric vehicle is still much cheaper than refueling a gas car. In DoE’s report, all EVs had annual refuel costs of less than $1,000. The plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and hybrid vehicles (HEV) are the closest to this value, with annual costs between $1,000 and $2,000. At the same time, conventional gasoline models have fuel costs estimated at between $2,000 to $7,000 per year.
Each dot in the graphic shared by the DoE (the first image in the gallery) represents the average cost for all certified configurations of that model. Although no midsize car exceeded the $6,000 mark, many small cars do, showing that smaller is not always cheaper. Two small-car models even exceeded annual costs of $7,000, although they are not shown in the picture.
The study assumes an average of 15,000 miles of driving each year, with 55% city driving and 45% highway driving. This might not be relevant for all vehicle categories or use-case scenarios. For the cost calculations, the Vehicle Technologies Office considered fuel costs of $4.87/gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, $5.76/gallon for premium, $5.72/gallon for diesel, $3.54 for E85, and $0.13/kWh for electricity. Of course, charging at public stations is in a different cost league, but most people prefer to charge at home.
According to the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, the annual costs of charging electric vehicles are significantly lower than filling up comparable ICE vehicles with gas. In fact, the difference might amount to thousands of dollars a year, assuming a mileage of 15,000 miles (24,000 km) per year.
Despite some EV owners complaining that the cost of public charging has skyrocketed in the past year, charging an electric vehicle is still much cheaper than refueling a gas car. In DoE’s report, all EVs had annual refuel costs of less than $1,000. The plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and hybrid vehicles (HEV) are the closest to this value, with annual costs between $1,000 and $2,000. At the same time, conventional gasoline models have fuel costs estimated at between $2,000 to $7,000 per year.
Each dot in the graphic shared by the DoE (the first image in the gallery) represents the average cost for all certified configurations of that model. Although no midsize car exceeded the $6,000 mark, many small cars do, showing that smaller is not always cheaper. Two small-car models even exceeded annual costs of $7,000, although they are not shown in the picture.
The study assumes an average of 15,000 miles of driving each year, with 55% city driving and 45% highway driving. This might not be relevant for all vehicle categories or use-case scenarios. For the cost calculations, the Vehicle Technologies Office considered fuel costs of $4.87/gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, $5.76/gallon for premium, $5.72/gallon for diesel, $3.54 for E85, and $0.13/kWh for electricity. Of course, charging at public stations is in a different cost league, but most people prefer to charge at home.
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