EV vs Petrol: Does the Higher Price Pay Itself Back?
Electric usually wins on fuel, and how much depends almost entirely on where you charge. At home, 12,000 miles a year saves $1,246 - enough to repay an $8,000 price premium in 6.4 years. Drive 25,000 miles and it repays in 3.7. But on public rapid charging, electric costs $297 a year more.
Two numbers decide this
Not the badge, not the technology. How far you drive, and what you pay per unit of electricity.
Everything else moves the answer a little. These two move it enormously.
Charging at home
A $32,000 petrol car at 30 mpg against a $40,000 electric at 3.5 miles per kWh, charging at home. From the EV vs petrol calculator:
| Miles a year | Petrol costs | Electric costs | Saved a year | Payback on $8,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,000 | $2,160 | $914 | $1,246 | 6.4 years |
| 25,000 | $3,633 | $1,471 | $2,162 | 3.7 years |
Per mile, that is 18 cents for petrol against 8 cents for electric at 12,000 miles.
The payback figure is the one to focus on. If you would keep the car longer than that, the higher price earns itself back. If not, the running saving never catches up with what you paid at the start.
Higher mileage helps enormously. Doubling the miles nearly halves the payback period, because the saving is per mile while the premium is fixed.
Without home charging
Now the same electric car on public rapid charging, at four times the home rate:
| Per mile | Per year | |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | $0.18 | $2,160 |
| Electric on public charging | $0.20 | $2,457 |
| Electric costs more by | $297 |
The advantage does not shrink. It reverses. Electric now costs more to run and more to buy, so there is nothing to pay back the premium at all.
This is the single most important thing on this page. If you cannot charge at home, put a realistic public price into the calculator before assuming anything.
Where each one wins
Electric makes sense when:
- You can charge at home overnight
- You drive a decent number of miles
- You will keep the car past the payback period
Petrol makes sense when:
- You cannot charge at home
- You drive relatively little, so payback never arrives
- You would change the car before it pays back
None of that is about the technology. It is about your driveway and your mileage.
What this comparison leaves out
Three things, and one of them is large.
Purchase incentives can reduce or remove the price premium entirely, which changes the payback completely.
Insurance sometimes differs between the two.
Resale value is the big one. What each car is worth when you sell can easily swamp every running-cost figure on this page. Before committing, check what both are actually worth at the age you would sell - the depreciation calculator is the place to work that out, and for many cars it is a larger number than the fuel saving.
Before deciding
- Work out whether you can charge at home. This decides more than anything else.
- Use your real mileage, not an optimistic one.
- Find the payback period and compare it against how long you keep cars.
- If you cannot charge at home, run it at public prices.
- Check resale on both. It can outweigh everything else here.
Run your own figures in the EV vs petrol calculator - it shows the saving, the cost per mile for both, and how many years the higher price takes to earn back.
Common questions about ev vs petrol
Is an electric car cheaper to run?
Usually, and often by a lot - but it depends on where you charge. At home rates, 12,000 miles a year costs 8 cents a mile against 18 cents for petrol, saving $1,246 a year. On public rapid charging at four times the home price, electric actually costs $297 a year more.
How long does the higher price take to pay back?
It depends on mileage. An $8,000 premium against a $1,246 yearly saving repays in 6.4 years. Drive 25,000 miles a year instead and the saving more than doubles, bringing payback down to 3.7 years.
What matters most in this decision?
How many miles you drive and what you pay for electricity. Those two swamp everything else. If you cannot charge at home, run the numbers with public prices before assuming you will save anything.
What about maintenance?
An electric car has fewer moving parts, no oil changes and less brake wear, so most people spend less. Tyres can cost more because the cars are heavier. Put your own estimates in rather than assuming either way.
What does this comparison leave out?
Purchase incentives, insurance differences, and what each car is worth when you sell. Resale in particular can swamp everything here, so check what both cars are actually worth at the age you would sell.