Operational costs under scrutiny
Electric cars are generally more expensive to purchase than cars with a combustion engine. Nevertheless, an electric car is often cheaper, concludes LeasePlan. Not only in the Netherlands, but in almost all of Europe.
LeasePlan has presented its annual Car Cost Index, a report in which the so-called Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of cars. In fact, TCO refers to the total costs you incur while owning the car. Think of maintenance costs, depreciation, taxes and fuel costs. LeasePlan concludes that the TCO of electric cars in 18 of the 22 European countries surveyed is a maximum of 5 percent higher, equal or lower than that of cars with a petrol or diesel engine. LeasePlan has looked at the first four years of EV ownership for operational costs, at an average annual mileage of 30,000 kilometers.
In the Car Cost Index, LeasePlan writes, among other things, that fuel costs for a petrol car account for an average of 23 percent of the total costs you incur. For a diesel car, that percentage is 28 percent, while electricity costs for an EV only account for an average of 15 percent of the total costs. In 18 of the 22 European countries surveyed, the operational costs of compact electric cars are said to be equal to or lower than those of combustion engine cars. For EVs in the compact middle class, this would be the case in 19 of the 22 European countries surveyed.
The Netherlands
According to LeasePlan, the TCO of an electric B-segmenter – think of cars such as the Peugeot e-208 – is an average of €890 in the Netherlands on an annual basis. For a car in this class with a petrol engine, you will pay less at €833. A diesel car in the Netherlands is the most expensive in this class with a TCO of €921. If we look at the C segment, the EV in the Netherlands is the cheapest purely looking at operational costs (€948). For petrol and diesel cars, the TCO in this class is respectively €984 and €1,137 on average. According to LeasePlan, the EV is also the cheapest in the middle class (D segment) in the Netherlands. The total operational costs on an annual basis would average €1,073 for an EV. For petrol and diesel cars, these are respectively €1,148 and €1,305.
The Netherlands is also among the 22 European countries included in the study. We also find Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Ireland and Hungary in the list. Driving is the most expensive in Switzerland. The average TCO of cars – regardless of fuel type – is €1,313 on an annual basis. In second place we find Norway (€1,249). The Netherlands is in third place (€1,166) and is therefore one of the most expensive European countries to drive a car. Greece is the cheapest in absolute terms (€905).
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl