They say the future is electric, but as things stand, many people simply don’t think that purchasing an electric vehicle is worth the cost. In all fairness, it’s easy to see why you might think electric vehicles are far too expensive - so, here at RAW2K, we’ve taken a look into what it is about electric vehicles that makes them so expensive to purchase when compared to petrol and diesel options.
This can be put down to a number of factors. Namely, electric vehicles are produced in much smaller quantities than petrol and diesel vehicles, and the battery pack that powers them is made of expensive materials. However, an electric vehicle might actually cost you less in the long run thanks to reduced fuel and maintenance bills.
Initial purchase costs
Generally speaking, an electric vehicle will cost you an average of several thousand pounds more than a comparable conventionally-fuelled car. For example, a standard Fiat 500 will cost you around £13,674, whereas the electric version of the same model will set you back around £19,995. On the plus side, as the demand for EVs has increased over the years, it’s become cheaper and cheaper to manufacture things like EV batteries. As a result, prices for these vehicles have decreased incrementally, thanks to technological advancements, so they’ll be far more affordable in the years to come. The Swiss bank UBS has optimistically predicted price parity between EVs and combustion engine alternatives being reached as early as 2024 (however this isn’t very likely though).
Purchasing an EV will help you to save money in other areas though.
Electric car maintenance
In the long run, it’s likely that the overall cost of running and maintaining an electric vehicle will work out cheaper than that of a petrol or diesel car. This is mainly due to the fact that an internal combustion engine drivetrain can have over 200 moving parts, whereas a Tesla Model 3 drivetrain has just 17 moving parts. Electric vehicles don’t feature any cambelts or require any oil changes, and also prolong the life of you brake pads/disks through a process known as regenerative braking which uses your motor as a generator to convert the kinetic energy produced by braking into electrical energy.
So, when all these factors are considered, the initial cost of purchasing an electric vehicle is more than a petrol or diesel car, but you could end up saving yourself more money in the long run.
Not quite ready to make the switch to electric vehicles? Then you can always take a look through our online car auctions for a vehicle that better suits your needs and budget for right now.
Our online auctions are home to a wide range of vehicles for sale, and many of these models include damaged and light damaged cars. The auctions are refreshed on a daily and weekly basis, and we include makes and models available from some of the world’s leading manufacturers like Volkswagen, Ford, Renault, and many more. Why not take a look around, and see what you can find? There’s always a bargain to be found!
