Strangely, everything associated with the gas vs. EV conversation doesn’t come down to simple math. During the vehicle’s life, an EV is much cheaper to fuel and maintain, but they come with a much higher initial cost. Gas cars cost less at the dealership but require more maintenance and will cost a lot more to fuel during their lifespan. Is there a bottom line we can follow for these two vehicle types? Let’s find out.

Direct comparisons provide the proof

For this comparison and some solid numbers, we’ll turn to Car and Driver. They compared two vehicles that offer both gas and electric versions. These vehicles are the Hyundai Kona and Kona Electric, and the Ford F-150 and Ford F-150 Lightning. Using these two vehicles offered with both an EV and gas version, we can find the underlying cause of this question. In addition to utilizing these two models, the Car and Driver team used a three-year cost analysis to create hard evidence of what each vehicle costs.

How much did each vehicle cost?

The starting point for cost analysis between an electric car and a gas car has to begin with price. Using the base trim of the two Hyundai SUVs and the XLT trim for the F-150s, we find that the starting purchase price of each vehicle is:

• Hyundai Kona: $22,595
• Hyundai Kona Electric: $35,295
• Ford F-150: $40,960
• Ford F-150 Lightning: $54,769

As you can see, the electric versions are much more expensive than the gas-powered models.

How much does each vehicle cost to fuel?

Using the three years of ownership an average of 15,000 miles-driven per year, each vehicle would drive for 45,000 miles during the testing time. The gas price used is $3.70 per gallon, but understanding the cost of charging electric vehicles is much more complicated.

Electric vehicles can charge at home and at public charging stations. Typically, the cost of using public chargers is much higher than what’s spent at home. Using the $0.43/kWh for DC fast charging and $0,15/kWh for at-home charging, we’re coming closer to a solid number. If electric car drivers charge at home 80% of the time and only 20% at public chargers, the calculations become clearer.

Overall, the cost to fuel these four vehicles during the first three years of ownership is:

• Hyundai Kona : $5,162
• Hyundai Kona Electric: $2,548
• Ford F-150: $8,325
• Ford F-150 Lightning: $4,529

These figures assume the EVs are charged to 100%, but most EVs only charge to 80% at public charging stations, which is not part of this calculation.

EV maintenance costs are much lower

The first three years of a vehicle’s life should be the most affordable in terms of overall maintenance and repairs. Still, gas cars are more expensive to maintain than electric cars. The figures for these four vehicles might surprise you because there’s not as wide a difference than some might expect.

The cost to maintain these vehicles is:

• Hyundai Kona: $4,428
• Hyundai Kona Electric: $3,573
• Ford F-150: $4,199
• Ford F-150 Lightning: $3,573

Which vehicles are cheaper to own?

Using fuel costs, maintenance costs, and depreciation over the three years of owning these four vehicles, the cost of ownership is:

• Hyundai Kona: $19,385
• Hyundai Kona Electric: $21,426
• Ford F-150: $26,505
• Ford F-150 Lightning: $23,840

Depreciation adds quite a bit to these figures. An item that hasn’t been considered yet is the Federal EV Tax Credit of $7,500, which would only be applied to the electric cars and not the gas cars.

From this figure, not counting the starting price of each vehicle, the Ford F-150 Lightning is much more affordable to operate than the gas-powered Ford truck. Conversely, the Hyundai Kona is more affordable than its electric counterpart.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, the figures for this comparison don’t produce a clear winner when trying to understand whether electric cars are cheaper to operate than gas cars. Also, the starting price wasn’t considered in the final calculation. If you toss those numbers in the mix, gas-powered vehicles are more affordable to operate during the first three years of ownership. Still, during time on the road, fuel and maintenance costs favor the EVs over gas-powered vehicles.

Although the goal was to find a clear picture, much like the conversations surrounding EVs vs gas cars, the results using two models are still clear as mud. Finding the right solution could mean performing your own comparison based on the vehicle considered.

The post Is an Electric Car Cheaper Than a Gas Car? first appeared on Ride4Watts.com.

The post Is an Electric Car Cheaper Than a Gas Car? appeared first on Ride4Watts.com.