Electric vehicles are creating a divided feeling in the automotive world. Some people love the EVs and their silent driving, cheap electric power, and clean burning features. Others feel that EVs cost too much, use far too many rare-earth metals, and require new charging stations, which only add to the ruin of the world’s landscape.

Should you drive an electric car, and are they cheaper to maintain and own than ICE models? Let’s explore.

What are we being told?

Most automakers tout lower maintenance costs for electric vehicles while also promising owners won’t need to visit service centers nearly as often with EVs as ICE models. Overall, fewer visits mean you’ll spend more time driving and less time at the service center, but the cost per visit could be greater for EVs. Electric cars are relatively new in Israel, and some owners are learning that these infrequent visits can be costly compared to what they paid per tip for gas-powered vehicles.

Still, the overall maintenance costs could be less for electric vehicles during a specific time period. The best way to learn about this is to compare gas and electric versions of nameplates that offer both types of vehicles. For this comparison, we’ll use the data collected by Car and Driver concerning the Hyundai Kona and Ford F-150, which offer gas and electric versions.

What are the maintenance cost comparisons?

When electric and gas versions of the same vehicles are compared, electric cars are cheaper to maintain. The three-year timeline provided for the Kona and F-150 shows the electric models cutting costs by almost $900 for the Kona and $600 for the F-150. The actual maintenance costs after 45,000 miles of driving are:

• Hyundai Kona: $0.0984 per mile/$4,428
• Hyundai Kona Electric: $0.0794 per mile/$3,573
• Ford F-150: $0.0933 per mile/$4,199
• Ford F-150 Lightning: $0.0794 per mile/$3,573

How much does the fuel cost for each vehicle type?

This is where comparisons become murky, and it’s hard to know how to gauge exactly what it costs to fuel different vehicle types. For the gas-powered versions of these two vehicles, Car and Driver used $3.70 per gallon for regular fuel, which was the national average fuel price at the time of their study. This means the gas-powered versions cost:

• Hyundai Kona: $5,162
• Ford F-150: $8,325

When looking at the electric versions of these two vehicles, the average rate of $0.1546/kWh is used for at-home charging. Of course, there are other factors to consider as well. Some drivers will use public charging exclusively, while others might never need to plug in at a DC fast-charger. We know these public chargers are much more expensive than at-home charging.

Tossing the figures in a bucket to figure out how much it costs to charge the electric versions of the Kona and F-150 for 45,000 miles, the total comes to:

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

What have we learned?

Are electric cars cheaper to maintain than gas-powered vehicles? In this example, the answer is a resounding “yes.” The difference we find is that EVs don’t have to visit the service center nearly as often as gas-powered vehicles, which is a plus, but those visits can be more costly each time, which is a negative.

Driving EVs is much less expensive than driving gas-powered vehicles, especially in areas where gasoline costs nearly $4.00 per gallon. It’s also much cheaper to recharge electric vehicles at home than out on the road.

Why are some drivers avoiding electric vehicles?

Typically, when you buy a vehicle, you’re familiar with how it drives, what to do to fuel the vehicle, and how to maintain it. Transitioning from a gas-powered vehicle to an electric model creates a challenge for most drivers. Where are the charging stations in your area? If you don’t know the answer to this question, you’ll need more information to change from a traditional model to an EV.

Another reason some drivers aren’t ready to make the change is the need for an at-home charger. Some people live in apartments and don’t have electric chargers at their buildings, while homeowners with garages might avoid an EV because running a 240-volt electric line and plug can be expensive.

Electric cars are cheaper to maintain so far, but we only have a few years and a small sample size. We won’t know everything about EVs until some have lasted for 20 or 30 years to prove they can stay on the road as long as some gas-powered vehicles. Still, EVs are cheaper to fuel and maintain, and they are cleaner to drive, which are only a few of the benefits of EVs.

The post Debunking Myth or Fact: The True Maintenance Cost of Electric Cars first appeared on Ride4Watts.com.

The post Debunking Myth or Fact: The True Maintenance Cost of Electric Cars appeared first on Ride4Watts.com.

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.