The financial case for electric vehicles

[Big J]

There was an interesting programme on Radio 4 this week called 'Sliced bread' (as in the best thing since...) where they explore products/services that are supposed to be all that. 

 

Anyway, it was electric vehicles this week. Whether you agree with the environmental credentials or not, the one thing that came through was that they are fundamentally cheaper to own and run unless you do very low mileage. 

 

So that got my cogs turning, costing our vehicle options for us when we relocate in July. Without boring you all with the details (though I can, on request ), I did the calculations on us being a two vehicle household, comparing our current vehicles (2007 VW transporter, and anticipated 2009 2l TDI A6 estate) with a couple of MG ZS EVs on a 3 year lease. Both scenarios would involve me charging mileage to my business for commercial use of private vehicles.

 

In short, the total cost for 36k miles in the diesel vehicles including servicing and repair, depreciation and fuel and insurance is £14,800. The total cost of leasing the electric vehicles for the same distance is £9200. 

 

This assumes current diesel prices (a touch higher than the UK at £1.95/l) and current electricity prices (much lower than the UK, with a 3 year fixed rate about £0.14/kwh). 

 

Now I appreciate that I'm working it out for my personal situation and that with electricity and electric vehicles being cheaper in Sweden, there is a degree of bias, but the cost saving is really quite large, especially considering that there is £10k tied up in the diesel vehicles which would be liberated if they were sold. 

 

Another consideration is that when we install solar (which is our intention), the electricity effectively becomes free for most of the year. And the £10k liberated from the sale of the diesel vehicles pays for 60% of the 12kw solar system with battery backup and car chargers. Generating our own electricity would bring the annual cost of running the EVs down to £7700, which is a cost saving of £7100 over diesel.

 

I suppose the reason for this post is to perhaps share my opinion that I think that the financial case is now very strongly made for electric vehicles, especially if you can charge from your own generated electricity. This was the conclusion of the Radio 4 programme too.

[benedmonds]

21 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

I suppose the reason for this post is to perhaps share my opinion that I think that the financial case is now very strongly made for electric vehicles, especially if you can charge from your own generated electricity. This was the conclusion of the Radio 4 programme too.

Interestingly I listened to the same program but came to the opposite conclusion. Especially if you already own a car..

[Big J]

2 minutes ago, benedmonds said:

Interestingly I listened to the same program but came to the opposite conclusion. Especially if you already own a car..

That is interesting. I guess it comes down to the vehicle you already have, the mileage that you do and your charging options. 

 

As I said, an element of it is that electric vehicles (and indeed many others too) are cheaper in Sweden, and the electricity is a third of the price. That is a factor of course.

[Squaredy]

My experience is that our EV is a bit pricey to lease (compared to the same model in petrol/diesel) but very cheap to run.  Fuel usage is very low, tax and maintenance very low, just a high leasing cost.

 

Of course, if you can generate your own electricity and use that to charge the batteries you will be even better off (but to do this you may have to plug in daily which is a bit of a pain).

 

But good luck charging it in an unfamiliar area...

[Woodworks]

Yep I listened to it as well. 

 

Conclusions was its worth changing to an EV over an ICE car when your looking to change and buy new but is wasn't financially worth changing for the sake of it unless doing very high miles

 

Still wished we had changed back in early 2020 when there were some great deals on an MG5. Could have got it for a tad under 20k 

 

Seems I bookmarked it 

Sliced Bread - How green is switching to an electric car? - BBC Sounds

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

---

Are the latest ad-hyped products and trends really 'the best thing since sliced bread'?

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Woodworks

[benedmonds]

The environmental benefits of an ev were not convincing and the "real world test" was practically worthless to extrapolate from.  

 

When I looked at getting an ev on lease for quoting a year or so back, I worked out the 45p a mile would not cover the running  costs. Whereas my  purchased outright 2 year old economical diesel would be paid back in a few years.  

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by benedmonds

[Big J]

7 hours ago, benedmonds said:

The environmental benefits of an ev were not convincing and the "real world test" was practically worthless to extrapolate from.  

 

When I looked at getting an ev on lease for quoting a year or so back, I worked out the 45p a mile would not cover the running  costs. Whereas my  purchased outright 2 year old economical diesel would be paid back in a few years.  

 

 

 

Interesting that the running costs weren't covered. Could you go into a little detail? 

 

From my calculations, running diesels in Sweden would cost us around £0.41 a mile whereas the EVs would be £0.21 a mile. There are a few things that am EV would struggle with (heavy towing, longer distance work) but with over £7k saved annually, it offers a substantial budget for car hire. Additionally, I have friends there I can do temporary car swaps with, should we need to. 

[Big J]

8 hours ago, Woodworks said:

Yep I listened to it as well. 

 

Conclusions was its worth changing to an EV over an ICE car when your looking to change and buy new but is wasn't financially worth changing for the sake of it unless doing very high miles

 

Still wished we had changed back in early 2020 when there were some great deals on an MG5. Could have got it for a tad under 20k 

 

Seems I bookmarked it 

Sliced Bread - How green is switching to an electric car? - BBC Sounds

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

---

Are the latest ad-hyped products and trends really 'the best thing since sliced bread'?

 

 

A colleague down here ended up with an MG5 and loves it. By the time the discount had been applied and the older diesel was traded in, it ended up costing him about £14k plus VAT!!

[Big J]

It's pretty apparent that vehicle leasing is another example of rip off Britain. I compared the MG ZS EV, like for like in the UK and Sweden. Both on 12,000 miles/20,000km a year on 3 year terms, same equipment level. UK price is £430/month with £270 fee initially, whereas Sweden, it's £259/month with no upfront fee. And then, assuming you're charging exclusively at home and at night, your electricity for those 12k miles will cost you £977 in the UK and £500 exactly in Sweden.

 

So cost per mile over three years on 12k a year is £0.52 in the UK and £0.30 in Sweden.

 

You really don't have to go back many years and the UK was one of the cheapest places for cars anywhere in Europe. Not at all the case now.

 

Links to leasing sites:

 

MG ZS EV Car Leasing | Nationwide Vehicle Contracts

WWW.NATIONWIDEVEHICLECONTRACTS.CO.UK

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Join the electric revolution and lease the MG ZS EV from just £194.03 ex VAT a month with Nationwide Vehicle Contracts...

 

MG ZS EV Privatleasing - Holmgrens Bil

WWW.HOLMGRENSBIL.SE

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Upplev helt nya MG ZS EV. En bekväm och intelligent SUV som är helt elektrisk. Just nu privatleasing från 2.495kr/mån.

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by Big J

[topchippyles]

15 hours ago, Big J said:

 Without boring you all with the details (though I can, on request ), 

We are all used to it to now jonathan full your boots son 🤭

Edited April 9, 2022 by topchippyles