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Quick answer: the energy half of the comparison is genuinely lopsided. At 15,000 km/year, home-charged EV energy costs about 18,000 vs 100,000 in petrol — an 82,000/year gap. But the comparison only becomes honest when the purchase premium pays that gap back (about 4.9 years on a 400,000 premium in this example) and the numbers people never finish — charging access, insurance and depreciation — join the table.
EV at 15 kWh/100 km and 8/unit: 0.15 × 8 = 1.20/km. Petrol at 15 km/L and 100/L: 100 ÷ 15 = 6.67/km. Over a year: 18,000 vs 100,000. Over five years: 90,000 vs 500,000 — a 410,000 energy gap. If this were the whole story, every driveway would already be electric.
| Factor | Direction | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase premium | Against EV | In this example 400,000 — the payback on energy alone is 400,000 ÷ 82,000 ≈ 4.9 years |
| Charging access | Decisive | Home charging at domestic rates is the cheap case; public DC fast charging runs 2–3× per kWh, pushing EV cost/km toward 2.5–3.5 |
| Maintenance | For EV | No oil changes, less brake wear (regen), fewer moving parts — real but modest annual savings |
| Insurance | Often against EV | Higher repair costs can mean higher premiums; quote both before deciding |
| Depreciation | Uncertain | Battery-degradation fears pressure EV resale; petrol resale is better understood. This is the least quantifiable line |
The 4.9-year payback assumes the home-charging 1.20/km. Rerun it with fast-charge pricing (say 2.8/km average): annual saving drops to (6.67 − 2.8) × 15,000 ≈ 58,000, and payback stretches to about 6.9 years. Halve your annual distance to 7,500 km and the home-charging payback stretches to ~9.8 years — possibly longer than you keep the car. The three numbers that decide this purchase are annual km, charging access, and the premium you actually pay — everything else is rounding.
On home charging, roughly 5× cheaper: 1.20/km vs 6.67/km in the worked example. On public fast charging the gap narrows to roughly 2× — still significant, no longer decisive alone.
400,000 ÷ 82,000 ≈ 4.9 years with home charging at 15,000 km/year. Rerun the division with your own premium, distance and charging price — the answer swings from 3 to 10+ years.
Generally yes — no oil changes, fewer wear parts, regenerative braking extends brake life. Tyres and suspension wear similarly. Budget the savings, but don't let it carry the whole decision.
Comparing energy only, or assuming home-charging rates for someone who will actually fast-charge. Both errors inflate EV savings; the honest model uses your real km, your real charging mix, and the real premium after incentives.
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