What a question! We’ve usually just seen concept electric vehicles and we’re never told how much they cost (contemporary example - BMW’s MINI E). But some companies do actually sell EVs and its use as a cost-cutter or a money saver is often overlooked.

There are no lack of things that the unsympathetic critics of EVs can bring up and that’s fair enough. But it’s time that some misconceptions were consigned to the dustbin of history and the idea the any EV has some inherent ‘financial catch’ is one of those. Ever since GM’s EV1, the furthest any concept models ever got was in being leased. Have they told us how much it would cost to buy one? No. Why? Because they’ve pretty much just got their spec from jamming a load of expensive lithium-ion batteries into where the back seats used to be.

Most EVs on the market work off lead-acid batteries. Good ones can be expensive but not in the way many might think. A REVAi battery will last 3-5 years and then is €1,500 to replace it. This is not an intuitive cost for most drivers so it needs to be taken into account with the fact that an AC induction motor is a very different proposition. They’re frictionless, contain less than a hundred moving parts and can last up to 25 years.

If you do the sums you start to see what’s on offer:

What this doesn’t portray is the how a standard car is subject to systematically rising prices. Yes, oil is back down to $40 a barrel, but why are we still paying over a euro per litre in Ireland? VRT and motor tax have been rising steadily and trends are showing this has started to work. With the exception of the yummy-mummies who drive their jeeps (some say their D&G sunglasses mean they need the head space), we’re a nation of small cars and they’re getting steadily cleaner.

Perhaps one very scary proposition is a return in demand for oil. This would be down to a global economic recovery and what are Ireland’s chances of keeping in step? Call it pessimistic but I think it would almost be sacrilege in the Republic of Moaning to reckon that we’ll recover as quickly as the rest of the world. So while we’re all still feeling the pinch there’s the very real possibility that petrol won’t spare a thought for poor old Ireland and you can bet your lucky stars that a cash strapped government won’t be quick in offering tax relief.

So the difference — €2,337.67 by this estimation — is not a fixed saving. Rather, it’s a gap that will systematically widen. Now there’s no doubt that you save at the price of not being able to leave the locality with much ease (and by locality I mean the city of Dublin here) and there’s also ‘range anxiety’ to consider since we tend to worry about the one time we might need to drive somewhere when we’ve exhausted the battery. But consider the scenarios where this is not an issue. The second family car, for instance. Or the short hop commercial delivery vehicle.

But what about the second hand car that you pick up for nothing? Well, the cost comparison all depends on how much you’re going to get taxed, how much petrol will rise and how much service and repairs will cost. With these cars there is no definite on the road for €x. You’ll only know in hindsight how much you had to plough into that banger. Over the course of 3-5 years, if that figure reached anything close to €3,000 then you’d better have paid less than that for the car because at this point you’d have almost been better off driving electric.

So in sum, the benefits aren’t massive but it is essentially an annual fee and that’s it. No cash gets devoted to fuel on the fly and there’s a degree of immunity from fuel price spikes. Of course, the government might finally follow some other European countries and offer some kind of intensive and there’s no reason to rule this out yet. Just imagine what it could be like in a year or two - you drive down an empty bus lane, park for free and then get out of a car that, say, you were allowed to reclaim the VAT on. None of this is confirmed yet but give it time. A two grand saving might become a five grand one. In this country, it could well be the only investment going that shows a decent return.

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   ufc betting says:

   March 13, 2009 at 9:10 pm

   Interesting article, i have bookmarked your blog for future referrence