Electric cars are on average 54 percent more expensive than petrol cars

The recently published publication ‘Mobility in Figures – Auto 2022-2023’ by RAI Association and Bovag gives us reason to endlessly browse through the sales statistics. For example, we discovered that the average purchase price of an electric car this year is more than 50 percent higher than that of a petrol car: €51,171 versus €33,254. Please note: these figures cover the first five months of 2022, but will be quite close to the figures for the whole year.

The average price paid for a diesel car is around €64,851. The difference with the average price for a petrol car is partly caused by the size, but also by the bpm. In 2022, diesel engines are especially unpopular in the lower segments. In addition, the purchase price for a diesel now consists of 20 percent bpm, while that for a petrol model is an average of 11 percent.

Furthermore, in 2022 we paid an average of around €20,353 for a car on LPG (mainly thanks to Dacia) and €44,434 for a (plug-in) hybrid, making the latter closer to the EV than to petrol cars. If we zoom in further on the prices per segment of petrol cars and electric cars, it is striking that the relative differences in favor of petrol cars are greatest in the A and B segments (see table).

The higher the segment, the smaller the percentage difference in average purchase price, a fact that in itself fits neatly with the conclusion that LeasePlan recently drew. In the higher segments (E and F, containing the Audi A6 and Mercedes S-class respectively), the average petrol car is more expensive than diesels and EVs. There, the CO2 emissions of the mostly still available larger engines in those segments play tricks on the category. A thick petrol S-class is (because of the bpm) considerably more expensive than an electric Mercedes-Benz EQS.

Average purchase price in 2022 (until May) per segment (figures: RDC)

Addition limit and subsidy

We mainly highlight the differences between the prices of petrol and electric cars, because consumers currently make the most choice between them. To make electric driving more attractive, there are the well-known benefit schemes for both private and business drivers. It now appears that they do not or only partly help the average EV buyer. The purchase subsidy of €3,350 for an electric car (for which there is no gold) last year was only for models with a purchase price of up to €45,000.

The addition benefit for EVs this year was 6 percentage points over the first €35,000 (and therefore about two-thirds on average) of the purchase value. In 2023, both the purchase subsidy and the addition benefit to EV drivers will be less favorable than this year, while electric cars are expected to be more expensive than cheaper in the new year.