EV SERVICING COSTS ARE LOWER THAN PETROL VEHICLES

It was shown from Cap HPI study that on average, service and maintenance costs for electric vehicles are 23% lower than petrol vehicles over 3 years and 60,000 miles. The number of electric vehicles on Britain’s roads have increased 128% from 2015. There were 21,019 more electric vehicles in April 2018 compared to April 2015.

For smaller vehicles, the gap widens. Here is an example of an increase of 35.7%

A Renault Zoe will cost £1,100 to maintain over 3 years.

A Vauxhall Corsa 1.0T 90 Design costs £1,497.

The Nissan Leaf, Britain’s best-selling electric vehicle, costs £1,197 to maintain over 3 years, a Volkswagen Golf 1.0TSI 110 SE costs £1,429. Therefore, the Nissan Leaf is 19% lower that the VW Golf.

It will be challenging for motor dealers who rely on service revenue as an important part of their turnover due to the challenging economics of electric vehicles. However, motorists will benefit from lower running costs.

Chris Plumb, senior valuations editor at Cap HPI said, ‘An electric car motor has far fewer moving parts than a petrol or diesel engine. They also benefit from gentler driving styles that lead to lower wear and tear of brakes and tyres. While the purchase price is often higher at the moment, but coming down all the time, drivers will find an EV much cheaper to run with significantly lower costs to charge rather than visit the pump and lower maintenance costs.’