4 ms·

Probably not if you factor in long term operating and maintenance costs.

Gravityloss 5y ago
You can get a lot of gas for 10,000 dollars / euros. Engine maintenance is rare nowadays, oil change every now and then and maybe a belt change every 5 years. Both cars have the same tire, suspension, hydraulics, low voltage battery and body maintenance. In general, I think you still have to have periodic expensive maintenance to keep warranty for your electric car. In local prices, 10,000€ gets you about 7000 liters of gasoline, with 5 liters per 100 km you get 140,000 kilometers. The car would on average probably be ten years old at that point. Many Priuses do tend to be driven a lot and for a long time, with a quick search I can see a local one that has gone over half a million kilometers. So there is certainly potential for long term financially positive electric cars.
- 542354234235 5y ago
  EVs and Plug-in Hybrids cost less to maintain than ICE vehicles. [1] Over 200k miles, ICE vehicles are about double the maintenance cost of EVs or Plug-in hybrids, and EVs are slightly more than Plug-in hybrids. -At 50k miles; EVs $600, Plug-in $1,050, ICE $1,400. -100k miles; EVs $2,000, Plug-ins $2,600, ICE $4,400. -200k miles; EVs $6,300, Plug-ins $5,900, ICE $12,300. EVs use about 30kWh to go 100 miles [2][3] and at the US national average for electricity [4], that would be about $6,250 to drive 200k miles. ICE vehicles vary but 35 mpg combined is pretty average [5] for compact cars. At the US national average for gasoline [6], that is $18,070 to drive 200k miles. Plug-in hybrids use about 29kWh to go 100 miles and about 48 mpg [7]. Just assuming 50/50 driving on gas or electric, that’s about $9,610 to drive 200k miles. So maintenance and fuel cost over 200k miles would be roughly: -EVs $12,552 -Plug-in Hybrids $15,510 -ICE $30,370
  - Gravityloss 5y ago
    Nice calculations. 200k miles is 320,000 kilometers. Most vehicles are never driven that much before scrapping (or maybe they're exported to Africa?)
    - 542354234235 5y ago
      In the US, people keep new cars for an average of 8.4 years [1], and the average working age adult (age 20-54) drives about 15,200 miles per year [2]. That is over 127,000 miles, and that is average. Obviously if you are someone that trades in their car every 2 years, long term costs aren’t important to you. But lots of people keep their cars over 100k miles, and plenty keep their cars out to 200k. I included 50k and 100k on the maintenance prices, and fuel costs just have to be divided in half for 100k. At basically any distance, EVs and plug-ins are significantly cheaper to maintain and fuel than ICE vehicles. So maintenance and fuel cost over 100k miles would be roughly: -EVs $5,125 -Plug-in Hybrids $7,405 -ICE $13,435 [1]https://www.iseecars.com/how-long-people-keep-cars-study https://www.iseecars.com/how-long-people-keep-cars-study [2] https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm

You can get a lot of gas for 10,000 dollars / euros. Engine maintenance is rare nowadays, oil change every now and then and maybe a belt change every 5 years. Both cars have the same tire, suspension, hydraulics, low voltage battery and body maintenance. In general, I think you still have to have periodic expensive maintenance to keep warranty for your electric car. In local prices, 10,000€ gets you about 7000 liters of gasoline, with 5 liters per 100 km you get 140,000 kilometers. The car would on average probably be ten years old at that point. Many Priuses do tend to be driven a lot and for a long time, with a quick search I can see a local one that has gone over half a million kilometers. So there is certainly potential for long term financially positive electric cars.

542354234235 5y ago
EVs and Plug-in Hybrids cost less to maintain than ICE vehicles. [1] Over 200k miles, ICE vehicles are about double the maintenance cost of EVs or Plug-in hybrids, and EVs are slightly more than Plug-in hybrids. -At 50k miles; EVs $600, Plug-in $1,050, ICE $1,400. -100k miles; EVs $2,000, Plug-ins $2,600, ICE $4,400. -200k miles; EVs $6,300, Plug-ins $5,900, ICE $12,300. EVs use about 30kWh to go 100 miles [2][3] and at the US national average for electricity [4], that would be about $6,250 to drive 200k miles. ICE vehicles vary but 35 mpg combined is pretty average [5] for compact cars. At the US national average for gasoline [6], that is $18,070 to drive 200k miles. Plug-in hybrids use about 29kWh to go 100 miles and about 48 mpg [7]. Just assuming 50/50 driving on gas or electric, that’s about $9,610 to drive 200k miles. So maintenance and fuel cost over 200k miles would be roughly: -EVs $12,552 -Plug-in Hybrids $15,510 -ICE $30,370
- Gravityloss 5y ago
  Nice calculations. 200k miles is 320,000 kilometers. Most vehicles are never driven that much before scrapping (or maybe they're exported to Africa?)
  - 542354234235 5y ago
    In the US, people keep new cars for an average of 8.4 years [1], and the average working age adult (age 20-54) drives about 15,200 miles per year [2]. That is over 127,000 miles, and that is average. Obviously if you are someone that trades in their car every 2 years, long term costs aren’t important to you. But lots of people keep their cars over 100k miles, and plenty keep their cars out to 200k. I included 50k and 100k on the maintenance prices, and fuel costs just have to be divided in half for 100k. At basically any distance, EVs and plug-ins are significantly cheaper to maintain and fuel than ICE vehicles. So maintenance and fuel cost over 100k miles would be roughly: -EVs $5,125 -Plug-in Hybrids $7,405 -ICE $13,435 [1]https://www.iseecars.com/how-long-people-keep-cars-study https://www.iseecars.com/how-long-people-keep-cars-study [2] https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm