Why it remains difficult to say how much electric driving costs

Unlike the price of a liter of petrol, diesel or LPG, it is almost impossible to say what a kWh (kilowatt hour) of electricity costs. We all use electricity, mainly at home. When the annual statement falls on the mat, you see what the rates were for the past year. No one could have predicted that they have now shot up like a rocket due to the geopolitical situation. Not only electricity and natural gas have become more expensive, but so have car fuels. Not to mention the cost of living.

TCO for EV better?

But what about the costs of electric driving? The main arguments for switching to an EV have always been the low fixed and variable costs. The TCO (total costs of ownership) would work out much better for an EV than for a car with a combustion engine. Indeed, you do not pay motor vehicle tax, you spend little on maintenance and if all goes well, the residual value works out fine.

Big difference charging at home or on the street

We will not take all those factors into account for now, we will see what you spend per kilometer on fuel or electricity. In addition to the strongly varying rates, there is a big difference between the price per kWh at a normal charging station and a fast charger. Then there is home charging, with its own wallbox. This can sometimes turn out to be more expensive than charging at a street pole. In short, just like when refueling a fuel car, you have to be careful where you load. In principle, charging an electric car can be cheaper than refueling a (economical) petrol car. In all this, don’t forget that there are other reasons to switch to an EV, such as the climate and no longer being dependent on oil. The transition has begun and will continue for several decades. But in the end, the vast majority of us go to the plug

We will fictitiously refuel/charge for €25 with a BMW X3 and iX3, of which the purchase prices of the electric, petrol and diesel models are close to each other.

• According to the manufacturer’s specification, the iX3 consumes 18.5 kWh/100 km. At a price of €0.50 per kWh you can charge 50 kWh for €25, good for 270 km.

• The X3 xDrive 20i is at 7.6 l/100 km. At a liter price of €1.83 you get exactly 13.7 liters for €25, good for 180 km.
• The X3 sDrive 18d consumes an average of 5.6 l/100 km. At a liter price of €1.78, your 25 euros is good for 14 liters, with which you can cover a distance of 250 kilometers.

Normalize rates

Maarten Hachmang, Independent EV Consultant about the prices of a kWh: “The prices at the charging station in the Netherlands are currently very variable, which means that you can no longer speak of a national average. The differences are particularly significant between cities and provinces. While you saw few rate changes until 2021, rates now change several times a month. The location of the charging station and the possible tendering of public charging stations in municipalities and provinces also play a role in this. This leads to different rates in the street. Moreover, it makes a difference which charge card you use to pay for your electricity. That affects the price. The rates at public charging points in the city and along the highway vary from roughly 30 to 90 cents per kWh. The differences are greater at public charging stations, such as at the DIY store or at work. Here the electricity can be free, but can just as well cost €1.10 per kWh. You can find the rates for charging in the app of your charge card provider, although this is sometimes an indication. You can influence the choice of the charge card yourself. Such a charge card can be requested free of charge or can be part of a subscription, for example specifically for your car brand or from your energy supplier. Both variants have been mapped out atlaadpasstop10.nl. To bring some more clarity to this chaos, we also investigated what the different rates of all providers are at the various charging networks, whether they have a clear app with charging prices per charging station and what their coverage abroad is. For example, you can consult what the cheapest provider is at Fastned, but the site also tells you which charge cards are accepted in France or Germany and whether there are any additional conditions. For example, if you need to use a local pre-paid charge card somewhere. Fortunately, public charging prices are expected to fall again this spring. This ensures that the rates on the street normalize somewhat towards 35 to 40 cents per kWh, which is equivalent to about 6 cents per kilometer driven.”

More about costs and driving? Then read AutoWeek 6, which is still in stores until February 15.