Electric Car Payback vs Petrol Car

Calculations

{"type":"doc","attrs":{"background":{"dim":28,"url":"https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1671785120538-c24cbe823ccc?q=80&w=2340&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&ixid=NHwxMjA3fDA%3D"}},"content":[{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":1},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Electric car payback: when does an EV beat a petrol car?"}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Example values for Germany in 2026. Where a source is known it is named, the rest are assumptions. Compare yearly running costs and find the break-even. Replace the example numbers with your own."}]},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Driving"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"yearlyDistance = 15000 km"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Petrol car (ICE)"}]},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Assumption: price of a comparable new car"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"icePrice = 28000 €"}},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Assumption: use the real consumption of your car (e.g. from your fuel log)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"iceConsumption = 7 l / (100 km) to l / km"}},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"ADAC: monthly average Super E10 in August 2026 was 2.145 €/l (presse.adac.de)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"fuelPrice = 2.15 € / l"}},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Assumption: service and repairs, an EV often needs less (no oil changes)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"iceServicePerYear = 700 € / year\niceTaxPerYear = 180 € / year"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Electric car (EV)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"evPrice = 38000 €\nsubsidy = 0 €"}},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"ADAC Ecotest: real consumption of current EVs ranges from about 15.5 to 29.7 kWh per 100 km, mid-size cars about 18 to 20 (via vattenfall.de, enbw.com)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"evConsumption = 19 kWh / (100 km) to kWh / km"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Mix of home charging (cheap) and public charging (expensive)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"homeShare = 70 %"}},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"BDEW 08/2026: household average 37.0 ct/kWh (a special EV tariff can be lower)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"homePrice = 0.37 € / kWh"}},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Public charging: ADAC e-Charge 0.55 €/kWh at AC; ad-hoc prices (ACE, 07/2026): 52 ct AC, 70 ct DC"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"publicPrice = 0.55 € / kWh\nevServicePerYear = 350 € / year\nevTaxPerYear = 0 € / year"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Running costs per year"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"iceFuelPerYear = yearlyDistance * iceConsumption * fuelPrice / (1 year)\nelectricityPrice = homeShare * homePrice + (1 - homeShare) * publicPrice\nevEnergyPerYear = yearlyDistance * evConsumption * electricityPrice / (1 year)\n\niceRunning = iceFuelPerYear + iceServicePerYear + iceTaxPerYear\nevRunning = evEnergyPerYear + evServicePerYear + evTaxPerYear\nsavingsPerYear = iceRunning - evRunning"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Payback: extra purchase price divided by yearly savings"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"extraPrice = evPrice - subsidy - icePrice\npaybackTime = extraPrice / savingsPerYear to years"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Cost per km, all in"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"iceCostPerKm = iceRunning * (1 year) / yearlyDistance\nevCostPerKm = evRunning * (1 year) / yearlyDistance"}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"After 8 years (ignores interest and resale value)"}]},{"type":"numbox","attrs":{"code":"total8 = savingsPerYear * 8 years - extraPrice"}},{"type":"paragraph"}]}