Most electric vehicle companies show that the cost of fuel of an electric vehicle is very low as compared to that of gasoline vehicles.
But the truth is different.
Although I have explained it many times through the blogs and videos, here I am trying to male it simple.
Here is the simplest way to know the real cost of fuel of an electric vehicle.
First thing is that the cost of electricity bill is not the real cost of fuel, the major portion of fuel cost is the battery cost, which means battery replacement cost.
Battery is the consumable fuel like petrol as it lasts for several kilometers only, whereas the cost of electricity bill is an additional little cost. Thus it is important to know the cost of the battery and its range.
For example If a battery costs Rs.50,000 and the company claims that it lasts for at least 50,000 km, then the battery cost is Rs.1 per km. That means your EV will cost you (Rs.1 + Electricity cost )/km.
Here electricity cost will be very less for example if it is Rs.0.4/km then total cost of fuel is Rs.1.4/km. Thus if your gasoline vehicle costs you Rs.2/km then you can save Rs.0.6/km with an electric vehicle.
Also consider the price hike in battery cost after 3-5 years will cost it even higher.
Electric Vehicles are much more superior than the IC engine vehicle like no- vibrations, no noise, no maintenance, no air pollutants etc. Thus the saving in cost is the additional benefit of an electric vehicle and not the main driving force to shift from IC engine to Electric Vehicles.
How to know battery cost?
Simply ask the dealer for battery cost or ask for purchasing additional batteries to know battery cost. If the dealer doesn't know the battery cost, you can estimate it from battery capacity ( kwh - battery voltage x Battery Ah)by considering Rs.20000/kwh. For example 72V, 42Ah battery means 3.024kwh battery which may cost Rs.60000 after 3-5 years.
Also ask how much range the company claims for the battery before the requirement of replacement.
Note that this is not about discouraging the buying of electric vehicles because at the end Electric Vehicle is more beneficial in many ways and it is the only future of the automobile industry. This is only to make buyers aware of the reality.
You may also like to read the following articles related to the same topic.
Are electric bikes truly less expensive than petrol bikes? Analytical Evidence.
You can use our EV Calculator for easy estimation of cost.
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