Are Electric Cars worth it?

Are Electric Cars worth it? With changing attitudes to all-electric and hybrid motoring, we investigate whether all-electric and hybrid cars make financial sense for your purposes.

All-electric and hybrid motoring is taking off in the UK and over the next few years, drivers will see a shift in expectations for their daily drive. Only all-Electric vehicles are eligible for no-congestion zone fees and zero road tax.

Driving an electric is an altogether more cost-effective solution with the costs of ownership generally lower than petrol or diesel equivalents. However, the cost of an all-electric car is more expensive. This is currently levied somewhat by the government offering a £1500 plug-in grant.

Electric Cars are more expensive

Electric and hybrid cars are generally more expensive than their petrol and diesel counterparts but the savings they provide (for some types of driver) can vastly outweigh the initial cost.

The cost of ownership is broken down into the following expenditure:

• Purchase or lease of a car
• Annual Road Tax (or VED)
• Fuel costs
• Maintenance (including servicing)
• Insurance

This article will only focus on the first three items as both maintenance and car insurance is required whichever powertrain you eventually choose.

For this example, we are focusing on an all-new Peugeot e-208 (one of the exciting new models coming to the range early in 2020). Fuel costs are based upon:

• Unleaded petrol costing: 122.9 pence per litre
• Diesel costing: 126.9 pence per litre
• Electric costs of 8 pence per kWh
• Annual mileage of 10,000 miles
• Combined MPG figures as published by Peugeot

Add London congestion zone charging and a petrol all-new 208 will cost you from a further £10.50 per visit. Electric vehicles are exempt from the London Congestion charge.

If you drive your all-new Peugeot 208 for 3 years (totalling 30,000 miles), the savings equate to £3,401.34 by driving all-electric.

The PureTech petrol variant of the All-new 208 Active currently costs £16,250 on the road. The all-electric e-208 variant costs: £28,550. The UK government offers a £1,500 plug-in discount grant on e-208 models (which is applied automatically when you purchase from Charters.

So I don’t save with an Electric car?

The story doesn’t end there though. Whilst we have tried to be as detailed as possible, we have not accounted for the best electricity tariffs around. If you only charge your vehicle at night, you’ll benefit from really affordable rates. Some night rates are as low as 3 pence per kWh. This means your annual running costs would equate to just £75.

Whilst the added cost of outright purchasing a vehicle is more expensive, this indicates that the more you drive an all-electric vehicle, the more you save. Charters see the all-new e-208 as a perfect driving school car as many miles are travelled and costs need to be kept at a minimum. Electric vehicles are ideal for all types of businesses or those seeking for a less environmentally harmful way of driving around.

Can I save on an all-electric model by leasing or PCP?

This is where many of our customers will be looking for a difference. Currently we are offering the Peugeot all-new 208 GT Line in both all-electric and 1.2-litre PureTech EAT8 variants. The prices are below for direct comparison on a Personal Contract Purchase quote:

This particular comparison excludes any London Congestion Charging visits but if you did visit the city then you would start saving over the petrol variant.

Are electric cars ready for the mainstream?

Yes. We are proud to say that electric cars needn’t look and feel like a very different vehicles on the road. They are now designed by manufacturers with higher standards. The differences between the combustion and all-electric variants have become so minimal that many people wouldn’t notice the difference upon first inspection

Do electric cars compromise on space?

Unfortunately many electric cars do compromise on interior space. Peugeot’s clever platform means that neither the all-electric e-208 or e-2008 SUV are compromised. You will be driving the same car with the same specification as the petrol or diesel equivalents. The only differences are much better economy and silent driving.

So why choose an all-electric car?

Choosing an all-electric car is a personal decision. We would advise you to do so under the following conditions:

• If you are driving many miles regularly
• If you are planning to drive a more environmentally viable car
• If you drive into a Congestion charging zone regularly (over 6 times per year).

Choose the powertrain that suits you

In 2020, Peugeot are focusing on choice.

1. Choose your model
2. Choose your trim level
3. Choose your powertrain

As you can see, choosing a powertrain that suits you is a more complicated task than you would first imagine. We always advice speaking to our staff about your personal circumstances. However, as a starting point:

• Choose petrol for lower emissions with good economy and power
• Choose diesel for higher emissions, better economy with generally less power
• Choose all-electric for extreme economy, no emissions and all power.

The all-electric car models that are sold by Charters Peugeot are as follows:

• All-New e-208
• All-New e-2008 SUV

Is there an alternative to all-electric?

Yes. We offer a range of hybrid models from early 2020. These provide many of the benefits of electric without the range anxiety that can arise. These low emission models are based upon the same platform as their petrol or diesel counterparts but also offer pure a electric driving mode for your daily commute.

Hybrid models sold include:

• 3008 SUV Hybrid
• 508 Fastback Hybrid
• 508 SW Hybrid

When can I test drive an all-electric Peugeot?

In January 2020 Charters Peugeot of Aldershot will be holding a VIP event for the launch of the all-new 208 and e-208 and we welcome you to join us. During this time you’ll be able to drive one for yourself to discover how Peugeot has taken the all-electric car forward whilst keeping it very familiar. Use our form below to register your interest.

What about Charging and chargepoints?

Unfortunately the discussion on charging and chargepoints is a theme for another article but we will cover this in detail.

How can I find out more?

Speak to one of our team today and we’ll walk you through pure electric driving.

Citations

• Gov.Uk
• GoUltraLow
• PetrolPrices.com
• ZapMap
• British Gas “Electric car” energy tariff

Nb. All charging calculations are measured upon 0% – 100% charge. This is an unrealistic use case but we included this calculation to offer a “worst-case scenario”.