Petrol vs Electric Cost Spreadsheet
Discussion
If you're wondering about the cost savings of going electric then make a spreadsheet like this:
The grey cells can be changed to simulate changing petrol prices, mpg and other things.
Cells:
B3 =B5/(1/B14)
B5 =(B2*4.54609)/B4
B9 =(B5*B6)/100+B7+B8
B13 =B12/B3 format as %
B15 =B12/B14
B17 =B6/B14
B19 =(B15*B6)/100+B18
B21 =B9-B19
I hope this helps.
The grey cells can be changed to simulate changing petrol prices, mpg and other things.
Cells:
B3 =B5/(1/B14)
B5 =(B2*4.54609)/B4
B9 =(B5*B6)/100+B7+B8
B13 =B12/B3 format as %
B15 =B12/B14
B17 =B6/B14
B19 =(B15*B6)/100+B18
B21 =B9-B19
I hope this helps.
Edited by saladdays on Thursday 12th March 22:29
Depreciation is a lot more difficult to compare as obviously dependent on what car you buy, at what point in the depreciation curve and crystal ball gazing.
As an example our current car dropped in value by £55k in the 3.5 years from new before we bought it a year ago for £22.5k. Based on current valuations on similar cars it's then lost around £3k over the last 12 months and 12.5k miles.
As an example our current car dropped in value by £55k in the 3.5 years from new before we bought it a year ago for £22.5k. Based on current valuations on similar cars it's then lost around £3k over the last 12 months and 12.5k miles.
Pica-Pica said:
Where is depreciation?
Where is loss of return on alternative investment (opportunity cost)?
I reckon that two cars (Skoda Karoq and Toyota BZ4x) will depricate the same. Both cars bought used.Where is loss of return on alternative investment (opportunity cost)?
Alternative investment? I plan to PX my car and stump up £13k. The £13k is currently earning 3.5%, £455 a year. Whereas with the Toyota, the return on investment (savings) will be £650.
Pica-Pica said:
Where is depreciation?
Where is loss of return on alternative investment (opportunity cost)?
The spreadsheet is fairly obviously intended to be a rough guide on possible savings, mostly on fuel, for people who are thinking of changing their car. Not a ‘where is the best place for me to put £30k’.Where is loss of return on alternative investment (opportunity cost)?
This is fine if you are comparing new vs new.
You need to think about used vs used as well. EVs tend to be on average newer cars than the ICE equivalent at the same price. Then you need to factor in the depreciation as well. As EVs are more like your laptop/phone, where the drops are worse than the ICE.
Everyone should really work out their own cost saving as there's a load of factors to think about. Do you own your car or is it on finance? Does it need timing belt? The list goes on and on.
You need to think about used vs used as well. EVs tend to be on average newer cars than the ICE equivalent at the same price. Then you need to factor in the depreciation as well. As EVs are more like your laptop/phone, where the drops are worse than the ICE.
Everyone should really work out their own cost saving as there's a load of factors to think about. Do you own your car or is it on finance? Does it need timing belt? The list goes on and on.
cost of having the car, whether that's leasing or buying and depreciating is going to be more than the running costs of either, unless you are doing mega mileage.
People are funny about cost per mile or mpg, they are seemingly happily paying a fortune to not go anywhere, but sensitive about paying a few quid to drive somewhere.
When you do 30,000 miles a year though, you get to thinking you could save significant money in a different car.
Big thing about an EV is that cost per mile is not remotely constant.
You can do lots of trips within its range for pocket change, but when you have to use public chargers, it's back to being real money.
I've owned a couple of V6 cars, I really noticed the fuel because I seemed to always fill up on the way somewhere and on the way back, whereas a diesel with a bigger tank I don't worry about it. If I drive 'up country' for a weekend, the fuel will probably be less than I pay on meals out.
Anyone doing a spreadsheet for 7500 miles a year needs to stop that and think about interesting places to drive to!
I wonder how the oil price rises will affect people, will they drive less if petrol goes to £1.90 a litre?
How many people will find their personal tipping point and buy an EV when fuel costs exceed their 'threshold of pain'?
Last time the price of diesel got near £2, I considered an EV, but bought a sailing yacht instead.
People are funny about cost per mile or mpg, they are seemingly happily paying a fortune to not go anywhere, but sensitive about paying a few quid to drive somewhere.
When you do 30,000 miles a year though, you get to thinking you could save significant money in a different car.
Big thing about an EV is that cost per mile is not remotely constant.
You can do lots of trips within its range for pocket change, but when you have to use public chargers, it's back to being real money.
I've owned a couple of V6 cars, I really noticed the fuel because I seemed to always fill up on the way somewhere and on the way back, whereas a diesel with a bigger tank I don't worry about it. If I drive 'up country' for a weekend, the fuel will probably be less than I pay on meals out.
Anyone doing a spreadsheet for 7500 miles a year needs to stop that and think about interesting places to drive to!
I wonder how the oil price rises will affect people, will they drive less if petrol goes to £1.90 a litre?
How many people will find their personal tipping point and buy an EV when fuel costs exceed their 'threshold of pain'?
Last time the price of diesel got near £2, I considered an EV, but bought a sailing yacht instead.
OutInTheShed said:
cost of having the car, whether that's leasing or buying and depreciating is going to be more than the running costs of either, unless you are doing mega mileage.
People are funny about cost per mile or mpg, they are seemingly happily paying a fortune to not go anywhere, but sensitive about paying a few quid to drive somewhere.
When you do 30,000 miles a year though, you get to thinking you could save significant money in a different car.
Big thing about an EV is that cost per mile is not remotely constant.
You can do lots of trips within its range for pocket change, but when you have to use public chargers, it's back to being real money.
I've owned a couple of V6 cars, I really noticed the fuel because I seemed to always fill up on the way somewhere and on the way back, whereas a diesel with a bigger tank I don't worry about it. If I drive 'up country' for a weekend, the fuel will probably be less than I pay on meals out.
Anyone doing a spreadsheet for 7500 miles a year needs to stop that and think about interesting places to drive to!
I wonder how the oil price rises will affect people, will they drive less if petrol goes to £1.90 a litre?
How many people will find their personal tipping point and buy an EV when fuel costs exceed their 'threshold of pain'?
Last time the price of diesel got near £2, I considered an EV, but bought a sailing yacht instead.
That last line gets the "Man-maths of the day" award....the wind is free, right?!People are funny about cost per mile or mpg, they are seemingly happily paying a fortune to not go anywhere, but sensitive about paying a few quid to drive somewhere.
When you do 30,000 miles a year though, you get to thinking you could save significant money in a different car.
Big thing about an EV is that cost per mile is not remotely constant.
You can do lots of trips within its range for pocket change, but when you have to use public chargers, it's back to being real money.
I've owned a couple of V6 cars, I really noticed the fuel because I seemed to always fill up on the way somewhere and on the way back, whereas a diesel with a bigger tank I don't worry about it. If I drive 'up country' for a weekend, the fuel will probably be less than I pay on meals out.
Anyone doing a spreadsheet for 7500 miles a year needs to stop that and think about interesting places to drive to!
I wonder how the oil price rises will affect people, will they drive less if petrol goes to £1.90 a litre?
How many people will find their personal tipping point and buy an EV when fuel costs exceed their 'threshold of pain'?
Last time the price of diesel got near £2, I considered an EV, but bought a sailing yacht instead.
Tye Green said:
very expensive electricty for an ev user, most have eg Octopus and pay around 8-9p per kwh
Depends hugely on your usage. Yes you can get off-peak electricity at 7p/kWh, but you're also paying about 2p/kWh more for the rest of your electricity. For us, since we have quiet a high base load, the non-EV elements roughly came out in the wash but for many people the extra cost of day-time electricity will significantly eat into the off-peak savings. I might be an edge case but I didn't buy my Tesla to save money, or the planet - I needed a new car as my elderly V8 was starting to show its age. An EV was hard not to include on any list of replacements. I also have a few friends with Teslas in their collections and they spoke of them positively.
Despite not being particularly interested in cost savings, I did make a spreadsheet just to compare. In the six years I've owned it, it's actually paid for itself in savings - compared with what it replaced along with a tax bonus too. A free car if you're into man-maths. It still drives like new and still gets new features over the air.
It's not exploded and I've not died.
But if I had a perfectly serviceable petrol car I'm not sure I'd switch to an EV - my switch was because I needed a new car. I also still have an ICE car for summer fun.
Despite not being particularly interested in cost savings, I did make a spreadsheet just to compare. In the six years I've owned it, it's actually paid for itself in savings - compared with what it replaced along with a tax bonus too. A free car if you're into man-maths. It still drives like new and still gets new features over the air.
It's not exploded and I've not died.
But if I had a perfectly serviceable petrol car I'm not sure I'd switch to an EV - my switch was because I needed a new car. I also still have an ICE car for summer fun.
kambites said:
Tye Green said:
very expensive electricty for an ev user, most have eg Octopus and pay around 8-9p per kwh
Depends hugely on your usage. Yes you can get off-peak electricity at 7p/kWh, but you're also paying about 2p/kWh more for the rest of your electricity. For us, since we have quiet a high base load, the non-EV elements roughly came out in the wash but for many people the extra cost of day-time electricity will significantly eat into the off-peak savings. Mikehig said:
That last line gets the "Man-maths of the day" award....the wind is free, right?!
Yachts are a great learning aid in having high annual costs and needing to get used, to bring the cost/mile or cost/'days use' down to something palatable.The wind is free, but new sails are expensive. Anything 'marine' is expensive.
But like a lot of people with boats, what I spend on boats, cars and motorbikes adds up to what a lot of boring people spend on having a shiny hatchback or SUV on the drive.
People have a finite amount of money that they are willing and able to spend. If they don't spend it on cars, they will spend it on holidays or shiny kitchens or something. When people speak of 'saving money by buying an economical car' they rarely actually put the difference in a savings account.
I'm kind of thinking about an EV next, I'm happy for my car to cost me x-amount for the miles we do, with an EV I might get something newer with less niggles and maybe even (shock/horror!) a warranty for the same total spend.
Tye Green said:
very expensive electricty for an ev user, most have eg Octopus and pay around 8-9p per kwh
The cheap EV tariffs are great, but not available in all circumstances.At the end of the day our horribly inefficient, 410hp, 2500KG SUV EV on a standard household tariff would still cost per mile the same as a petrol car averaging 70 mpg at current prices.
I treat depreciation differently to running costs. If one car depreciates more than another then you can mitigate the loss by just keeping it longer. Or buy a used one.
Fuel costs on the other hand are in real time and unavoidable. Depreciation only becomes a real cost when you sell the car. The longer you keep the car, the less relevant it becomes.
Fuel costs on the other hand are in real time and unavoidable. Depreciation only becomes a real cost when you sell the car. The longer you keep the car, the less relevant it becomes.
mikey_b said:
Octopus billing shows you the average price you pay per month. For me, we use about 950kWh per month and pay an average of about 16.5p. If you make an effort to shift load, you can avoid a lot of the higher daytime rates. Ours is higher than it would be, as our two girls wash in an electric shower each evening, which pulls 10kW for about 15 minutes each. That's about 5kWh per day just on them showering.
Yes, we averaged about 20p/kWh overall in February. Remove the car from the equation (which is obviously charged entirely off-peak) and that rises to 24p/kWh which is still cheaper than their standard tariff, but depending on usage it's not a certainty that that would be the case. Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff