Electric vehicles now cheaper to own than petrol, diesel cars in Europe

The Driven

The total cost of ownership of electric vehicles in Europe is now cheaper than owning its petrol or diesel equivalent model, a new report says.

Looking at a complete range of cost factors in five European countries in owning a VW Golf, researchers found that over four years the battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of Europe’s most popular passenger vehicle is cheaper to own.

In France, Germany, Norway, Netherlands and the UK, the battery electric VW e-Golf costs less to own when taking into account the base price of the vehicle as well as on-road and tax costs (not charging off solar and including a 3-year company car benefit).

The International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT) that issued the report says that based on the figures, taxation incentives are the way to go to encourage zero emissions vehicle uptake, and that financial bonus schemes to reward drivers for choosing zero or low emissions vehicles also play a role.

The report is extremely salient for Australia, which as has been noted repeatedly is the world’s laggard in EV uptake.

There are neither tax savings for investing in zero emissions transport nor financial incentives in Australia, and the major parties rejected such proposals even though the recent Senate report from Senator Tim Storer recommend such.

Read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle-dedicated site, The Driven…