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Petrol and electric car comparison

Compare the cash spent buying and running a petrol car and an electric car over your chosen period. Enter purchase prices, annual distance, consumption and energy prices. You can add charging equipment and different annual expenses for each vehicle. The chart shows how the difference between upfront spending and running costs changes over time.

Illustrative inputs, not current market prices. Prices are manual. Language does not select a tariff or tax regime.

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Result breakdown

Understand before deciding

How this calculation works

Each year’s cost is the purchase price plus accumulated annual expenses; the electric car adds the charger upfront. Grid energy equals battery consumption divided by charging efficiency. At 15,000 km a year, 16 kWh/100 km and 90% efficiency, approximately 2,666.67 kWh from the grid is needed. At 0.25 per kWh, electricity alone costs approximately 666.67 a year.

What is included and excluded

This compares cash outlays, excluding resale value, financing, inflation and opportunity cost. Insurance, maintenance and taxes are included only if entered as other costs. If electric consumption is already measured at the plug, use 100% efficiency to avoid double-counting losses. No subsidies or country tariffs are assigned, and range is not estimated.

Practical checks before deciding

Cheap electricity does not always offset a higher purchase price within your ownership period. Save a scenario and try fewer kilometres, another charging price or a shorter ownership period. If you mix home and public charging, use an average price weighted by the kWh from each source. Compare vehicles that meet your needs and inspect costs at your selected horizon, not just annual savings.

Read about formulas, conventions and limitations