This Online Calculator Shows The More You Drive An Electric Car, The Cheaper They Are To Own

A constant debate has seen electric vehicles been pitted against their petrol and diesel engine counterparts in terms of the cost of ownership of the vehicles. Though a valid argument stands for both sides, putting those to solid numbers has been a difficult task for most. Not anymore, thanks to a new online calculator.

Built with funding from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the online calculator aims to solve the confusion for individual owners as well as fleet operators as to what are the costs of ownership of an electric vehicle vis-a-vis a petrol or a diesel car.

While the straight up price of electric vehicles is always way more than an IC engine offering, thanks to the high cost of lithium-ion batteries, people tend to disregard the operational cost of both the choices. In most of the cases, operating a fossil fuel-run vehicle turns out to be way costlier than an electric vehicle. This in turn affects the total expense on both the vehicles, bringing that of EVs down in comparison.

This has also been a psychological barrier for many who are opting for a new vehicle. With solid numbers backing up one¡¯s decision, the calculator can really come in handy to know whether to go for an electric vehicle or not.

(Representative Image: Tesla)

Also read: Electric Car Graveyard: Thousands Of EVs Left Deserted By Chinese Car Sharing And Rental Firm

Our test

We tested out the online calculator to know whether it is feasible to buy an electric vehicle for a prolonged period of 5 years. Turns out, it isn¡¯t really!

To understand this, we need to first know how the calculator works. In a step wise manner, the calculator asks for inputs including your location, the type of car you are driving, an average of your annual commute and whether you have an energy source installed at your home like a battery or a solar panel. Once entered, the calculator displays an approximate cost of owning the two vehicles in comparison.

We tried comparing a battery electric vehicle to a petrol/diesel one. In most cases, the initial cost of a similar category electric vehicle turned out to be almost twice that of the petrol/diesel one. The price difference made a massive impact on the overall ownership cost of the electric vehicles, keeping it up than that of a petrol or diesel car in maximum comparisons.

For an optimal comparison, we pitted a Hyundai Kona Elite 39 kWh electric against a Hyundai Kona Elite 1.6 CRDi.

(Screenshot of the expense calculator by EVEnergi)

Also read: A Subscription Model For Electric Cars Complete With Insurance May Just Be The Thing For India

However!

Keep in mind that the test is limited to a 5-year ownership. That means any further operational costs of the vehicles will eventually result in the EV costing less in the long run. In the above comparison, the monthly running cost of the electric make was $80 less than its counterpart, meaning a saving of $960 over a year¡¯s run.

Also, the difference in the operational cost of the vehicles increases correspondingly to the distance covered, meaning the more you travel in your electric vehicle, more economical it will prove to be in contrast with the regular variant.

Don¡¯t forget the greens!

Regardless of the cost of ownership, there is no denying that the electric vehicles save up a huge amount of emissions in comparison with the gas spitting vehicles. In fact, the difference is remarkably huge in some cases. Even in the above comparison, the electric vehicle has been mentioned to spew less than a third of the emissions released by the IC engine variant.

The calculator has been developed by Sydney-based Evenergi and as of now works only for Australia and United Kingdoms. You can check it out here.

Eventually, a similar model can also help vehicle buyers in India once the EV culture is widespread in the country. Also, considering the high fuel prices in India against the ongoing subsidies and incentives on electric vehicles, we are sure the cost of an EV ownership will turn out to be much more equivalent, if not less than that of an IC engine vehicle.